First india ahmedabad edition-21 july 2020

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ALERT
AHMEDABAD l TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 236
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COVID-19
UPDATE
GUJARAT
2,167
DEATHS
49,439
CONFIRMED CASES
KARNATAKA
1,408 DEATHS 67,420 CASES
RAJASTHAN
568 DEATHS 30,390 CASES
WORLD
6,10,816
DEATHS
1,47,48,711
CONFIRMED CASES
INDIA
11,53,761
CONFIRMED CASES
28,096
DEATHS
MAHARASHTRA
12,030 DEATHS 3,18,695 CASES
DELHI
3,663 DEATHS 1,23,747 CASES
TAMIL NADU
2,551 DEATHS 1,75,678 CASES
Aditi Nagar & Haresh Jhala
New Delhi/ Gandhina-
gar: By appointing CR
Ptil--a Marathi--to lead
its Gujarat state unit,
the Bharatiya Janata
Party on Monday set a
new tone in Indian pol-
itics--one that goes be-
yonddeep-rootedcaste-
based politics. It is also
a clear message to any-
one who may think
that a political party
cannot survive with-
out the support of a
particularcaste.If this
experiment works, it
could also mean a new
era for the Hindutva
ideology, where divi-
sions along caste lines
could cease to exist.
However, the road
aheadisfarfromsmooth
for the incoming state
unit chief. The first test
of his political acumen
and organizational
skillswillbeputthrough
the wringer in the up-
coming by-poll for eight
state assembly seats.
More interestingly,
insiders see this
change of guard as
portending a reshuf-
fle in the state cabi-
net as well.
In his very first in-
teraction with the
press after being
named president of
the BJP’s Gujarat unit,
Patil said, “I will have
to fulfil the party’s as-
pirations. My goal is to
spread the party’s net-
work and boost party
workers and take the
government’s work to
the people.”
He brushed aside the
issue of Hardik Patel
being appointed as
working president of
Congress, saying, “He is
too young in politics to
be compared with me.”
With Patil’s ap-
pointment as party
chief, the reorganiza-
tion of the district and
city-level committees
can be completed in
time to help the party
gear up Turn on P6
BJP rises above caste equations with Patil appointment
CHANGE OF GUARD
Party chief CR Patil with Minister of State for Cooperation, Sports and Transport Ishwarsinh Patel
Herculean task ahead for new state
unit chief who faces his first test in
by-elections
Aditi Nagar &
Amit Chhabra
Jaipur: Amid political
crisis in Rajasthan, a
fierce battle seems to be
raging between the Cen-
tral and State govern-
ments, with the state
issuing an order that
the CBI will first have to
seek its permission for
any investigation and
only then will it be able
to take any action in Ra-
jasthan.
Moreoversourcesadd
that with suspense ris-
ing on the likely devel-
opments after the Union
Home Ministry de-
manded a report on the
phone tapping incident
by SOG, on Monday, the
state government in a
calculated move, with-
drew its “general con-
sent” to the CBI to con-
ductraidsandinvestiga-
tions by issuing a notifi-
cation requiring the
premier investigation
agencytotakepriorcon-
sent of the state for in-
vestigationof anoffence
under section three of
the Delhi Special Police
Establishment (DSPE)
Act, 1946.
As per Section 6 of
this act the CBI has
powers to investigate a
matter anywhere in the
country. Turn on P6
Nizam Kantaliya
Jaipur: Rajasthan
High Court will on
Tuesday resume hear-
ing the petition filed by
Sachin Pilot and 18 oth-
er dissident Congress
MLAs, challenging the
disqualification notices
issued to them by the
assembly Speaker.
The hearing re-
mained inconclusive on
Monday and Chief Jus-
tice Indrajit Mahanty
said it will be concluded
Tuesday. The order is
also likely to be pro-
nounced on Tuesday.
Abhishek Manu Sin-
ghvi, counsel for the
Speaker, argued that
the petition was prema-
ture as a decision was
yet to be taken on dis-
qualifying the MLAs
from the House.
He said there was no
scope for interference
by a court over the show
cause notices issued by
the Speaker.
The disssident MLAs
had moved court on Fri-
day amid the infighting
in the state unit of the
Congress, as Chief Min-
ister Ashok Gehlot and
his now sacked deputy
Sachin Pilot tussled for
power.
Thepetitionwastaken
up a by a bench of Chief
JusticeIndrajitMahanty
and Justice Prakash
Gupta. The proceedings
resumed on Monday
morning and continued
tilltheevening. Turn on P6
Naresh Sharma
New Delhi/Jaipur:
Rebel Congress leader
Sachin Pilot on Monday
said he was “saddened
but not surprised” at
the accusations being
hurled at him by some
people in the Congress.
Maintaining a si-
lence since after he was
sacked as deputy CM,
Pilot reacted on Mon-
day after CM Ashok Ge-
hlot levelled charges at
him of trying to topple
the state government
and also after a party
MLA Giriraj Malinga
alleged that Pilot of-
fered him money to
switch sides on the eve
of Rajya Sabha polls in
the state.
Pilot said in a state-
ment, “I am saddened
but not surprised to be
at the receiving end of
such baseless and vexa-
tious allegations being
levelled against me.
This has been done sole-
ly to malign me and to
stifle the legitimate con-
cerns that I had raised
against the party lead-
ership of the state.”
Pilot also asserted
that he will be taking
“appropriate and strict-
est possible legal ac-
tion” against Malinga
who “was made to” lev-
el these allegations to
stifle the “legitimate
concerns” that he has
raised against the Con-
gress leadership in the
state. —Agencies
Govt shows CBI who’s the Boss in Raj
Saddened but not
surprised: Pilot
Raj HC to resume
hearing today
Taming Corona! Covaxin trials begin,
AIIMS expects results in 2-3 months
New Delhi: The human
trial for the indigenous-
ly developed Covid-19
vaccine Covaxin has
begun at AIIMS Delhi,
institute director Ran-
deep Guleria an-
nounced on Monday.
TheAllIndiaInstitute
Of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) was given the
go-ahead by its Ethics
Committee and has be-
guntherecruitmentpro-
cessforthetrial,Guleria
said, which will include
atotalof 100healthyvol-
unteers between the
ages of 18 and 55.
“All trial sites com-
bined will have a total
sample size of 1,125
healthy volunteers. Out
of this, 375 will be stud-
ied in phase one. In
AIIMSDelhi,100healthy
volunteers will be re-
cruited,” said Guleria,
who added that they
werelookingtoconclude
the recruitment process
as “quickly as possible”.
The 100 subjects will
be divided into a place-
bo arm and vaccine
arm. Various depart-
ments will closely mon-
itor the trial group for
side effects. Turn on P6
Rubbishes charges by MLA Malinga
of offering `35 cr to change his vote
STATE CENTRE FACEOFF ENTERS 2ND PHASE
Dubai: The ICC on
Monday postponed the
T20 World Cup in Aus-
tralia owing to the
COVID-19 pandemic,
paving the way for the
BCCI to organise the
Indian Premier League
during the October-No-
vember window.
“The ICC on Monday
confirmed ICC Men’s
T20 World Cup in Aus-
tralia 2020 has been
postponed due to the
ongoing COVID-19 pan-
demic,” the ICC said in
a statement.
The T20 World Cup
was scheduled Down
Under Turn on P6
ICC postpones T20 WC,
decks cleared for IPL
Says it can’t just walk in,
has to seek permission!
Yogesh Sharma
Jaipur: Chief Minis-
ter Ashok Gehlot on
Monday termed his
former deputy Sachin
Pilot as “nikamma”
(useless) and “naka-
ra” (incompetent) and
accused him of con-
spiring with the BJP
for the past six months
to topple the govern-
ment in the state.
“Pichle saat salon
me koi bhi aisa nahi
milega jisne maang ki
ho ki Pilot sahab ko
hatanachahiePradesh
Congress Committee
adhyaksh se. Hume
pata tha vo Nikamma
hai, Nakara hai. Kuch
kaam nahi kar raha
hai. Khali logon ko
ladwa raha hai (In the
past seven years, you
won’t find anyone in
the party who de-
manded the removal
of Pilot as PCC presi-
dent even though we
knew he was useless,
good for nothing and
that he wasn’t doing
anything except mak-
ingpeoplefightamong
themselves),” Gehlot
told reporters.
He said Sachin Pilot
has a ‘masoom’ (inno-
cent) face and has a
strong command on
Hindi and English lan-
guage, with which he
had impressed the me-
dia across the country.
“The people of the
state know his contri-
bution. However, we
never questioned him
in the interest of the
party,” he said while
adding, “He was con-
spiring for the past six
months with BJP’s
support. Turn on P6
Calls ex-PCC chief ‘Nikamma aur Nakara’
CONTROVERSIAL
JIBE AT PILOT
ONE MORE
WB TO HAVE TWO
DAY WEEKLY
TOTAL LOCKDOWN
Kolkata: The West
Bengal govern-
ment has decided to
impose a complete
lockdown in the state
for two days every
week amid a spike in
COVID-19 cases. This
week, the lockdown
will be in place on
Thursday and Satur-
day. The decision has
been taken in view of
community transmis-
sion Turn on P6
—PHOTOBYHANIFSINDHI

NEWSAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
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Haresh Jhala
Ahmedabad: Cop turned
businessman-politician CR
Patil--or Chandrakant Ragu-
nath Patil, to use his formal
name--has come a long way
from the grassroots to the
top of the state unit of the
Bharatiya Janata Party.
With a political career span-
ning 35 years, it hasn’t been
a quick rise. Or even a steady
one, for that matter. Howev-
er, Both friend and foe agree
that he is a man of his word,
and knows how to plays his
cards close to the chest.
He’s also been known to stay
neutral in challenging times
for the party.
In 1996, when the BJP was
facing its worst crisis in histo-
ry, Patil was on civil terms with
all warring factions. He was
one of a handful of people who
could reach out to Narendra
Modi, Shankersinh Vaghela,
Keshubhai Patel, and Suresh
Mehta, despite being the lieu-
tenant of Kashiram Rana, the
only other state unit president
to emerge from Surat. Patil’s af-
fability also allowed him to
have an easy relationship with
Rana’s arch-rival in Surat,
Jivraj Dharukawala, one time
close to Keshubhai Patel.
This cordiality remains
one of his biggest strengths.
Others include the ability to
listen and humility. He has
been known to trust his team
and give them a free hand
while also being decisive
enough to pull back sharply
when team members take
their freedom for granted.
He’s also known to have re-
tained the discipline he picked
up during his training as a po-
liceman as well as the 15 years
he spent on the force.
Yet, there are many both
within the party and without
that may still ask why he was
chosen to lead the state unit.
For one, he’s not a native-
born son of the soil. Marathis
like him account for barely
1.52% of the population and
can hardly influence two as-
sembly seats in Surat and one
in Vadodara.
However, detractors fail to
take into account his uncanny
ability to bounce back and cre-
ate change.
For instance, he has helped
the state make considerable
inroads into the South Guja-
rat region; even more so
than his guru Kashiram
Rana. He and Rana launched
a Gujarati newspaper called
New Surat Times under the
guidance of RSS Pracharak
Bhaskarrao Damleji to
spread the Sangh and BJP’s
ideology.
A falling out with Rana in
2002 led to great upheaval for
Patil, who nevertheless
bounced back shortly thereaf-
ter and never looked back.
In 2009, the party fielded him
from the Navsari Lok Sabha
constituency, from where he
has been elected three times so
far.
Very few Gujarati leaders
must have access to the PMO
or 7, Race Course Road now
LokManya Marg but Those
close to Patil say that he has
won the trust of both Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah.
Patil’s personal philoso-
phy goes a long way in ex-
plaining the success he has
achieved today.
He once told this reporter,
who first met the soft-spoken
politician in 1990, “I have read
both Aurangzeb and the Bhaga-
vad Gita. And I have learnt les-
sons from both, which I have
implemented in my life.”
It’s clear that Modi has put a
crown on his head because he
is a result-oriented profession-
al politician.
Calling
shots
the
The soft-spoken
CR Patil is known
for being a good
listener and a man
of his word
I congratulate CR
Patil for being ap-
pointed as new state
unit president. I wish
him all success and I
am hopeful that un-
der his leadership,
the party will achieve
new heights.
—Jitu Vaghani, outgoing
state unit president, BJP
He is a dynamic per-
son with good organ-
izational skills. I
hope that under his
leadership party
achieves new goals in
the state and the par-
ty moves ahead.
—Harsh Sanghvi,
MLA, Majura
This is very good news for
Surat and for textile traders.
He is an aggressive personal-
ity and has always been ac-
tive in picking up local is-
sues at the Central or state
level. With him at the top,
now the work will get done
quicker.
—Jitu Vakharia, President,
Surat Textile Processors Association
This is a very important deci-
sion for industrialists and the
business community in South
Gujarat. He is a true public
servant. He has always
helped us in putting our de-
mands and suggestions to the
Central Government.
—Ketan Desai,
President, SGCCI
I congratulate CR Patil on being
appointed as state unit presi-
dent. He has risen from workers
post to be Member of Parliament
and has got elected to Lok Sabha
with the highest margin in
2019. I am confident that Patil
will successfully spread the par-
ty network and will lead the
party to victory in the coming
by-elections.
—Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister
CM e-launches housing projects for economically weaker sections
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: Chief
Minister Vijay Rupani
onMondayannounced
various development
projects to be initiated
in Surendranagar dis-
trict via video confer-
encing from Gandhi-
nagar. The projects
included the construc-
tion of 416 houses un-
der the Pradhan Man-
tri Aawas Yojana to be
built by the Thangadh
municipality at a cost
of Rs18.17 crore and
the Patdi-Dasada Ta-
luka Seva Sadan pro-
ject worth Rs9.96
crore.
On this occasion, the
CM stated that the state
government had con-
structed over 10 lakh
houses in the last three
years under the Prad-
han Mantri Aawas Yo-
jana as well as the
Mukhya Mantri Aawas
Yojana to provide ade-
quate housing to the
underprivileged.
He added, “This gov-
ernment has provided
not only roofs but also
comfortable houses
with electricity, toilets,
water and roads. It has
given priority to provid-
ing basic amenities to
the poor and Antyodaya
families to raise their
standard of living.”
Rupani also as-
sured that the state
had continued on its
developmental jour-
ney even during the
ongoing COVID-19
health crisis. He ap-
pealed to all citizens
to cultivate good hab-
its such as wearing
masks, practicing so-
cial distancing, wash-
ing hands frequently,
not gathering in a
crowd and preventing
the spread of the vi-
rus. He added that the
recovery rate of Sars-
CoV-2 infections in
Gujarat was more
than 72% and the
mortality rate had
also lowered.
The chief minister
also elaborated on
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi’s plans for a
‘New India’. “It can be
achieved by decentral-
izing the implementa-
tion of the schemes to
the district, taluka and
village levels. This way,
the schemes reach the
rural level and reach
the people,” he asserted.
 Over 416 houses will be built
under Pradhan Mantri Aawas
Yojana in Thangadh, Surendranagar
PLAN FOR SHRAVAN
In the year 1989-90 Patil had joined BJP in presence of national leaderAtal BihariVajpayee.
CR Patil and his family.
CM Vijay Rupani

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
998 & COUNTING: Another ‘high’ for Guj
Haresh Jhala
Gandhinagar: It took
Gujarat 15 days to
register its first 100
cases of COVID-19.
These days, the state
is witnessing almost
10 times that figure
on a daily basis. Hav-
ing crossed the 40,000-
mark on July 10, the
state has seen a regu-
lar rise of almost
1,000 cases a day for
the past 10 days. Mon-
day saw the highest
day-on-day rise yet
with 998 cases being
reported in 24 hours,
bringing the state tal-
ly to 49,439.
With cases on the rise
in rural areas as well as
urban centres, traders
and business communi-
ties from around the
statearevoluntarilylim-
iting hours of operation
to curb the spread of the
novel coronavirus. The
development comes in
the absence of any such
action initiated by the
stategovernment,which
hastested12,369samples
in a single day.
After Unjha markets,
the Jamnagar Traders’
Association, Suren-
dranagar Traders’ Asso-
ciation,Rajpiplamarket,
Botad’s Ranpur market
have all decided to busi-
ness either up to 4 pm or
6 pm. The Jam Jodhpur
market yard will remain
shutuntilJuly31andthe
Dabhoi and Navsari Na-
garpalikas have been
shut after staffers tested
positive for the Sars-
CoV-2 virus.
The 998 cases report-
ed on Monday came in
from 32 districts and
eight municipal corpo-
rations of the state. Of
the 20 overnight deaths,
11 occurred in Surat
while Ahmedabad re-
ported three--the lowest
in the recent past.
As many as 284 cases
emerged from Surat: 209
from the city and 75
from rural areas.
Ahmedabad had 193, Va-
dodara, 78, Rajkot, 56,
Bhavnagar, 42, Mehsana
26, Bharuch 22, and
Surendranagar, 20.
Rasmita Patel, the
head nurse at the Surat
Civil Hospital, suc-
cumbed to the virus on
Monday morning. She
was under treatment for
COVID-19 in the hospi-
tal, after she developed
fever three days ago.
There are now 11,613
active cases in the state.
This includes 78 pa-
tients who are on venti-
lator support.
Withthenovelcorona-
virusspreadingfasterin
Vadodaraandsurround-
ing areas, the Vadodara
administration has de-
cided to increase the ca-
pacity of beds in Sayaji
Hospital and Gotri Hos-
pital. In all, these hospi-
tals are expected to get
350 more beds.
Barely 10 days after it crossed the 40K-mark, the state’s tally of cases is almost at 50K, even as 20 new fatalities puts death toll at 2,167
ANOTHER WARRIOR FALLS
There were a number of empty chairs at the testing drive in Ahmedabad on Monday.
3 held as crime branch
seizes meth worth `34L
Incentivize plasma donation: Dhanani
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Leader
of Opposition Paresh
Dhanani in a letter to
Chief Minister Vijay
Rupani on Monday
asked that the process
of issuing death cer-
tificates of deceased
COVID-19 patients be
expedited.
Dhanani also suggest-
ed that the CM provide
an incentive to plasma
donors. He said, “Plas-
ma can be helpful to pa-
tients who are battling
the virus. As compared
to other states, there are
very few donors in Guja-
rat. In order to encour-
age people to donate
plasma, there must be
some policy of extend-
ing an incentive or cash
to them. By doing this,
we can create a plasma
bank and save many
lives.”
He also remarked that
the families of deceased
patients were not receiv-
ing the death certificates
of their loved ones in a
timely manner. “With-
out the death certificate,
the family has to strug-
gle a lot. I want to know
why the issuance of
death certificates is get-
ting delayed,” asserted
Dhanani.
The leader also stated
that the death toll of
COVID-19 patients was
not being updated daily.
“Most of the hospitals
are running short of
medical and paramedi-
cal staff. But, the online
portal suggests that
there are a number of
vacant beds at designat-
ed COVID-19 hospitals,”
he said.
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: Three
people were arrested
from a hotel in Shah
-E-Alam area of the
citybytheAhmedabad
Crime Branch on
Monday. Officials
seized banned drug
methamphetamine
worth Rs34 lakh from
the site.
In a statement, the
crime branch said that
they had received in-
formation that three
people had come from
Maharashtra to deliver
methamphetamine to
an Ahmedabad-based
drug peddler. A team
then conducted a
search operation at the
Silver Spring Hotel
from where it seized
342 gram and 374 ml of
methamphetamine.
The drug was found in
the possession of
Mumbai-based Bar-
katali Rehmatali Shai-
kh, his wife Rubina,
and Ali Mohammad
Shaikh.
Police Inspector HM
Vyas and Police Sub-
Inspector BP Desai of
the crime branch ad-
dressed the media and
stated that the market
value of the drug was
Rs34 lakh. They added
that during primary
questioning, the ac-
cused have stated that
they had come to deliv-
er the drug to peddler
Shahnawaz Pathan.
The police then took
all three accused to
Shahnawaz’s residence,
from where it seized
four lakh rupees cash
and other materials
used for weighing and
repackaging of drugs.
Shahnawaz was also ar-
rested by the police.
Barkatali is said to
have confessed to hav-
ing been part of the
drug trade for a long
time and had previous-
ly delivered metham-
phetamine to the city.
The cops and the accused, along with the busted drugs and cash.
Paresh Dhanani. —FILE PHOTO
Coal info rate
is hogwash,
says Cong
First India Bureau
Gandhinagar: The
government is mis-
leading the people
by claiming to pur-
chase coal at a com-
petitive rate. Due to
the collusion of the
government and a
few selected private
companies, the
middle and poor
class have been suf-
fering and paying
high electricity tar-
iffs, said Manish
Doshi, Chief
Spokesperson of
the Gujarat
Pradesh Congress
Committee.
AccordingtoDoshi,
the capital model of
the BJP-run govern-
ment has benefited
fourcompanies.“Ada-
ni,EssarandTatahad
received over Rs4,368
crore or more from
the pockets of people.
The recent announce-
ment by the energy
minister is just to
cover up the nexus,”
he said.
“The private com-
panies in the state are
gettingcoalfromtheir
own subsidiary com-
panies. Hence, the
global competitive
price does not exist.”
4L isolated at home, but how
effective is home quarantine?
Gargi Raval
Ahmedabad: With
COVID-19 hospitals
running at full capac-
ity, home quarantine
of the mildly sympto-
matic patients was
hailed as a boon for
them. But, in the sec-
ond week of the
month, a man in his
50s who tested posi-
tive for novel corona-
virus, has infected all
his family members.
Based in a society
near Udgam School,
Thaltej, the patient
had been asked to
stay under home
quarantine. Four
days later, however,
an ambulance came
to his residence and
took three members
of his family to the
hospital.
“The male patient
tested nCov positive
and was put under
home quarantine. Four
days later, the remain-
ing members of his
family tested positive
and all of them were
admitted to the hospi-
tal,” said a neighbour.
Further, the apart-
ment building or the
area pocket has not
been declared a micro-
containment zone. Ac-
cording to a press re-
lease issued by the
Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC),
over 5,745 people have
been discharged from
home isolation so far.
Across the state,
3,96,393 people are still
quarantined at home.
According to doc-
tors, when a positive
patient is put under
quarantine within his/
her home, the family
has to take extra pre-
cautions. “The govern-
ment only allows home
quarantine when there
is a separate room with
an attached toilet facil-
ity available at the
home for the patient.
Also, family members
have to keep a distance
of at least three feet.
However, it is difficult
to predict whether oth-
er family members will
be infected or not,”
said Dr Pragnesh Vach-
harajani, Joint Secre-
tary, Federation of
Family Physicians’ As-
sociations of India.
Vachharajani added
that the infection rate
had lowered. “Since
people are undergoing
tests at urban health
centres, the transmis-
sion has reduced. We
do not know how long
the virus will stay, so
all we can do is ensure
that cover our faces
and stay safe,” he said.
A sign marks a residence as housing a home-quarantined
COVID-19 patient in Ahmedabad. —FILE PHOTO

G Vol 1 G Issue No. 236 G RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad.
Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
or a very long time, reforms
inagriculture,marketinghas
been debated, but no decisive
action had been taken. It re-
quiresleadershiptounshack-
le the farmers from the vice-
like grip of intermediaries
whotakeawayalargesliceof
farmer’s income by resorting
to cartelization and unfair
arbitrage. Two landmark Or-
dinanceswererecentlyprom-
ulgated by the President of
India, which have the poten-
tial to fundamentally trans-
form the agriculture sector
and facilitate more holistic
development of agriculture
markets, from farm to fork,
furthering the Government’s
vision of doubling farmer in-
come by 2022. The aim is to
help the farmer become an
entrepreneur rather than be-
ing subservient to unholy
nexus of regulated markets
and intermediaries.
The first of these Ordi-
nances, The Farmers’ Pro-
duce Trade and Commerce
(Promotion & Facilitation)
Ordinance 2020, provides the
freedom to farmers to sell
when they want, where they
want and in whichever mar-
ket they want, which was
restricted by stringent (and
variable) APMC regulations.
There were previously four
key restrictions for farmers
– location of the market (re-
stricted to the nearest geo-
graphic market), number of
buyers (limited to licensed
traders leading to carteliza-
tion, restricting competition
and reducing farmer price
realization), infrastructure
availability (due to lack of
private investment outside
the mandi) and price trans-
parency (limited visibility
of inter-state prices, the po-
tential for intermediaries to
gain through arbitrage at
the cost of farmers). In addi-
tion to these restrictions,
farmers face multiple opera-
tional challenges including
prohibitive transportation
costs to the nearest market,
long queues at market and
delays in the auction, local
mafia raj, etc. Further, the
choice of APMC mandi and
procurement at MSP will
continue uninterrupted. Fi-
nally, in order to protect the
interest of farmers, the gov-
ernment has mandated an
expedient and simple dis-
pute resolution process.
With the new Ordinance
in place, a vibrant ecosystem
will be created for farmers
and traders creating an un-
restricted market with 3 key
benefits –
First, choice of market, al-
lowing a farmer to sell in
any state or national market
that offers the best prices.
This will limit the high de-
pendence on local traders
and enable farmers to real-
ize the best prices for their
produce, without having to
pay commissions and fees to
middlemen. A competitive
marketplace will be created
with a large number of buy-
ers leading to higher price
realization for farmers.
Second, choice of place, al-
lowing farmer to sell from
any location – including
farmgate, storage points like
warehouses or silos, private
mandis or the APMC mar-
kets. With the option to sell at
farmgate or warehouse,
farmers can reduce transpor-
tationoverheadsandimprove
net realization in addition to
sidestepping the challenges
faced in current markets.
Third, choice of timing,
allowing farmers to store
produce and sell post price
discovery. Previously, farm-
ers would have to transport
their produce to the mandi,
incurring significant trans-
portation costs. This would
result in a need to sell irre-
spective of prices, in order to
avoid incurring a reverse
transportation cost. Under
the new Ordinance, a farmer
can store and sell, due to
choice to market and place.
While historically there
has been limited investment
in infrastructure along the
value chain, in order to sup-
port smooth implementation
of the Ordinance the Govern-
ment of India has announced
anAgriInfraFundof Rs.1lac
crore. The fund will catalyze
otherwise stagnant invest-
mentfromcooperatives,FPOs
andprivatesectortofacilitate
thecreationof physicalinfra-
structure like assaying and
grading facilities, cold chain
etc.,allowingfarmerstostore
and sell, and reduce wastage
or distress sales.
While the first Ordinance
facilitates better price reali-
zation post-harvest, the sec-
ond The ordinance, The
Farmers (Empowerment
and Protection) Agreement
on Price Assurance and
Farm Services Ordinance
2020, enables market link-
ages at the sowing stage,
thereby limiting both pro-
duction risk and price risk.
The lack of a legal frame-
workforcontractingbetween
farmer and buyer in India
has historically led to limited
private sector participation
in production. This ordi-
nance provides a uniform
framework for private invest-
ment in markets, without
challenging a farmer’s own-
ership rights or right to culti-
vation – which will provide
farmers three benefits.
First, risk mitigation and
greater predictability of in-
come. Farmers will have the
option to enter into agree-
ments with buyers before
sowing,securingthepricefor
their sale. Further, they may
be able to enter into agree-
ments that protect them from
harvest losses as well, there-
by insuring against output
risk. This provides greater
certainty for farmers in sce-
narios where either the crop
output or market prices are
highly variable but enables
them to grow risky crops and
benefit from the upside.
Second, access to market
intelligenceandhencehigher
value per acreage. With lim-
ited forward linkages, farm-
ers don’t have access to con-
sumer demand trends and
hence, are not able to opti-
mize crop and varietal mix.
This Ordinance will enable
stronger linkage with both
domesticandexportmarkets.
Third, access to better
technology and know-how
for farm management and
hence, higher yield. As the
private sector will now have
a framework to better inte-
grate with farming practices,
they can channel expertise to
farmers as well as make di-
rect technology investments
(e.g. geo monitoring setups,
IoT, etc.) driving higher yield
and promoting sustainable
agriculture over long term.
Beyond the benefits, this
Ordinance also safeguards
farmers by providing clear
guidance and support to en-
ter into fair trade practices, a
stringent dispute resolution
mechanism, penalties for
misconduct by buyers, etc.
Collectively, these reforms
will herald a new dawn for
agriculture in India, trans-
forming farmers into vi-
brant producers, integrated
with the national and global
economy, who have freedom,
choice, higher price realiza-
tion for their produce and
security of livelihood.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
ORDINANCES TO TRANSFORM
AGRICULTURE SECTOR
F
Two landmark
Ordinances were
recently
promulgated by
the President of
India, which
have the potential
to fundamentally
transform the
agriculture sector
and facilitate
more holistic
development of
agriculture
markets, from
farm to fork,
furthering the
Government’s
vision of
doubling farmer
income by 2022
THE AIM IS TO HELP
THE FARMER
BECOME AN
ENTREPRENEUR
RATHER THAN
BEING SUBSERVIENT
TO UNHOLY NEXUS
OF REGULATED
MARKETS AND
INTERMEDIARIES
KAILASH
CHOUDHARY
MINISTER OF STATE
FOR AGRICULTURE &
FARMER’S WELFARE
hat will be the
normal way of
urban living
when the COV-
ID-19 crisis
passes? What aspects will
remain with us and what
will disappear?
The coronavirus pan-
demic has thrust us into a
moment of rapid change.
Like all change, it is diffi-
cult to predict. But lessons
from history provide us
with two important in-
sights.
First, temporary change
sometimes has remarkably
little lasting effect.
Second, what looks like a
lasting effect is often the
acceleration of existing
trends, rather than new,
crisis-caused trends.
COVID-19 impacts pro-
vide an opportunity for our
cities to shift to new ways
of urban living. But only if
we couple this opportunity
with technology and delib-
erate collective action will
sustained and equitable
change happen.
WHAT DOES
HISTORY TELL US?
Right now, COVID-19 im-
pacts are front of mind. In
thinking ahead, we might
therefore overemphasise
what a crisis will do to
how we live in cities. To
put it simply, history
shows us that the ways we
organise our cities are of-
ten resistant to abrupt
change – even in response
to catastrophic events.
In Japan, changes to pop-
ulation distribution as a
result of the bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
in 1945 had disappeared by
the early 1960s.
Almost 40% of Europe’s
population died during the
Black Death (1347-1352).
Much of Europe’s urban
hierarchy nevertheless re-
turned to its pre-plague
distribution over time.
Even the collapse of the
urbanised Roman civilisa-
tion had little lasting effect
on the urban hierarchy in
France. It did lead, though,
to a resetting of the urban
network in England.
The reason for this ur-
ban inertia is that mo-
mentary change often
does little to change the
fundamentals of our cit-
ies. It doesn’t greatly
change locational advan-
tages, built environment
legacy, property rights
and land ownership.
London, for instance,
has experienced slum
clearance, Spanish flu,
wartime bombing and the
introduction of greenbelts
and planning over the past
100 years. However, the lo-
cation of the city’s rich and
poor continues to be
shaped by infrastructure
investments in the Victo-
rian era. And the Roman-
period road layout has
strongly influenced the
street layout of central
London today.
At the same time, cities
do of course change. In
some cases dramatic
events – like fires or earth-
quakes – are the enablers
of change that is already
underfoot. That is, busi-
ness and policy coupling
opportunity with technol-
ogy and determination.
Businesses will not –
and should not – be slow
to couple opportunity,
technology and determi-
nation to achieve particu-
lar outcomes.
For instance, working
from home has overnight
(temporarily) become en-
demic. Higher education
institutions (temporarily
setting aside the challeng-
es for teaching) switched
remarkably quickly to al-
most exclusively online
platforms.
COVID-safe shopping
has popularised some auto-
mation. Demand for “con-
tactless” service delivery
has advanced some smart
and robot technology into
common use.
FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO
WWW.THECONVERSATION.COM
Why COVID-19 might not change our cities
W
COVID-19 impacts
are front of mind.
In thinking ahead,
we might therefore
overemphasise
what a crisis
will do to how we
live in cities
The way is not in the sky.
The way is in the heart.
—Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Jagat Prakash Nadda
@JPNadda
We saw yet another (failed) edition
of ‘Project RG Relaunch’ today.
@RahulGandhi Ji was, as usual,
weak on facts and strong on
mudslinging. Attempts to politicise
defence and foreign policy matters
shows one dynasty’s desperation
to wash their past sins of 1962
and weaken India.
Anand Sharma
@AnandSharmaINC
Fondly remembering Sheila Dixit
ji on her ﬁrst anniversary. She
will always be remembered for
her remarkable contribution in
the transformation of the national
Capital, creation of world-class
infrastructure and opportunities
for the youth to move forward.

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Jagdeep Dhankhar with Amit Shah in New Delhi on Monday.
INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
New Delhi: Reiterating
that China has still oc-
cupied India’s territory,
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Monday, at-
tacked PM Narendra
Modi saying that he has
fabricated a fake strong-
man image to come to
power which has now
become India’s biggest
weakness as he has to
protect the idea of
‘Chhapan Inch’.
Taking to Twitter, the
Congressleaderposteda
video message and
wrote, “PM fabricated a
fakestrongmanimageto
come to power. It was his
biggest strength. It is
now India’s biggest
weakness.” In the video
message, speaking on
“China’sStrategicGame
Plan” the Congress lead-
ersaid:“WhatisChina’s
strategic and tactical
game plan? It is simply
not a border issue. The
worry I have is that the
Chinese are sitting in
our territory today. Chi-
nese don’t do anything
without thinking about
it strategically.”
“In their mind, they
have mapped out the
world and they are try-
ing to shape the world.
That’s the scale of
what they are doing.
That’s what Gwadar is,
that is what belt and
road is. It is a restruc-
turing of the planet. So
when you are thinking
about the Chinese you
have to understand
that that is the level at
which they are think-
ing,” he added.
Now at the tactical
level, they’re trying to
improve their position.
Whether it is Galwan,
whetherit’sDemchokor
whether it is Pangong
Lake. The idea is to posi-
tion themselves, he said.
“They are disturbed
by our highway they
want to make our high-
way redundant and if
they are thinking larger
scale, they want to do
something with Paki-
stan in Kashmir. So it is
not simply a border is-
sue. It is a border issue
designed to put pres-
sure on the Prime Min-
ister of India,” the Con-
gress leader said.
“And they are think-
ing of putting pressure
in a very particular
way. And what they are
doing, is that they are
attacking his image.
They understand that
in order for Mr Naren-
dra Modi to be an effec-
tive politician; in order
for Mr Narendra Modi
to survive as a politi-
cian, he has to protect
the idea of--Chhapan
Inch. And this is the
real idea, the Chinese
are attacking. They are
basically telling Mr
Narendra Modi that if
you do not do what we
say, we will destroy the
idea of Mr Narendra
Modi as a strong lead-
er,” he said.
Gandhi continued
saying, now the ques-
tion is, how will PM
Narendra Modi react.
Will he take them on?
Will he take on the chal-
lenge and say absolute-
ly not, I’m the Prime
Minister of India. I do
not care about my im-
age I’m going to take
you on. Or will he suc-
cumb to them?
“The worry I have so
far is that the PM has
succumbed. The worry I
have is, the Chinese are
sitting in our territory
and the PM has said
publicly they are not,
which to me tells that he
is worried about his im-
age and defending it”
said Gandhi. —ANI
‘PM’s ‘fake strongman image’ is
India’s biggest weakness now’
The worry I have is that the Chinese are sitting in our territory & they don’t do anything without thinking, RaGa said
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court dismissed
as frivolous two PILs
seeking preservation of
artefacts recovered
from the Ram Janmab-
hoomi site at Ayodhya.
The top court also
imposed a cost of Rs 1
lakh each on the two pe-
titioners and asked
them to pay it within
one month.
A bench of Justices
Arun Mishra, B R Ga-
vai and Krishan Mu-
rari said that a five-
judge bench has al-
ready given its verdict
and this is an attempt
through PIL to over-
reach the judgement.
The counsel appear-
ing for the petitioners
said the Ram Janmab-
hoomi Trust has also
accepted that there are
many artefacts in the
area that need protec-
tion. The bench sought
to know as to why the
petitioners have come
before the SC under
Article 32 of the Con-
stitution. —Agencies
PleastoprotectRamTempleartefactsdismissed
Sehore: Reacting on
NCP chief Sharad Pa-
war’s statement that
some people
think corona-
virus can be
eradicated by
building a tem-
ple, BJP leader
Uma Bharti on
Monday said
that this state-
mentisagainst
Lord Ram, not against
Prime Minister Modi.
“PM Modi never
takes a day off, he sleeps
for only four hours.
This statement is
against Lord Ram, not
against PM Modi,” Uma
Bharti told media.
Recently, NCP chief
Sharad Pawar
said that some
people think
that the corona-
virus would
be eradicated by
building a tem-
ple. His com-
ment comes af-
ter the Trust
proposed two dates in
August for laying the
foundation stone of a
RamTempleinAyodhya
& had invited PM Modi
for the same either on
August 3 or 5. —ANI
‘Pawar’s jibe is against
Lord Ram, not PM’
New Delhi: It is a fail-
ure of the institution
that a person like Vikas
Dubey got bail despite
several cases lodged
against him, the Su-
preme Court said, while
asking the UP govern-
ment to consider hav-
ing a former apex court
judge and a retired po-
lice officer in the in-
quiry committee prob-
ing the encounter of the
gangster.
This is the failure of
the institution and the
person, who should
have been behind the
bars, got bail, a bench
headed by CJI SA Bob-
de said, adding, We are
appalled to the fact that
a person like Vikas
Dubey got the bail de-
spite so many cases.
The bench, also com-
prising Justices A S Bo-
panna and V Ramasu-
bramanian, told the UP
government that they
have to uphold rule of
law. The bench suggest-
ed changes in the in-
quiry panel and sought
a draft resolution from
the state government by
July 22. SG Mehta said
law has been set in mo-
tion and the inquiry has
started. —Agencies
Dubey’s bail, an institutional failure: SC
Guwahati: Six more
people have lost their
lives in flood-related in-
cidents in Assam, tak-
ing the total death toll
to 85, said the state gov-
ernment on Monday.
Assam CM Sarbanan-
da Sonowal has in-
formed that over 70
lakh people have been
affected due to Assam
floods. Sonowal said,
“On one hand, people
are troubled due to
COVID-19 and on the
other hand, there are
challenges arising out
of Assam Floods. Still,
the people of our state
continue to fight the
battle. Central and state
government are provid-
ing all kinds of assis-
tance to the people.”
“Over 70 lakh people
have been affected due to
Assam floods. People, as
wellasanimals,arebeing
rescued from the affected
areas and being shifted to
relief camps and safer lo-
cations,” he added.
While the flood situa-
tion in Assam remains
critical with most of
the rivers including the
Brahmaputra flowing
menacingly above the
danger mark, the water
level of the Barak river,
which flows through
Cachar district in the
state, too, has been on
the rise in recent days.
The overflowing of
Brahmaputra river has
already damaged crops
and triggered mud-
slides, displacing mil-
lions of people. —ANI
Assam Floods: 85 dead, over
70 lakh people affected
A village girl rows a makeshift raft to cross a flood-affected area in Morigaon district of Assam.
New Delhi: West Ben-
gal Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar on Monday
met Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah and dis-
cussed with him the
‘worrisome situation’
in the state.
During the meeting,
the Governor apprised
the Home Minister
about the prevailing
law & order, political &
COVID-19 situation in
West Bengal, officials
said. “Also state of af-
fairs and affairs of
State @MamataOffi-
cial. Welfare of people
of West Bengal is ever
uppermost in my mind.
All my actions are in-
spired to mitigate woes
of WB people,” he
tweeted.
The Governor had
also said that he would
discuss with the Home
Minister about his con-
stitutional duties pro-
vided under Article 159
that includes to pre-
serve, protect and de-
fend the Constitution,
and will “devote my-
self to the service and
well-being of the peo-
ple.” “I PLEDGE TO-
TAL COMMITMENT
FOR WB PEOPLE,”
Dhankhar said in an-
other tweet. —PTI
West Bengal Guv
Dhankhar meets
HM Amit Shah
THIRD MONDAY OF SAWAN
CELEBRATED AT MAHAKALESHWAR
Ujjain: On the occasion
of the third Monday
of the Sawan month,
the Bhasma Aarti was
performed at Ujjain’s
Mahakaleshwar temple in
the morning.The priests
wore masks and ensured
social distancing as a pre-
ventive measure against
COVID-19. However, the
usual hustle-bustle was
absent from the temple
due to coronavirus out-
break which has affected
the lives of people across
the globe. Shravan, the
fifth month in the Hindu
calendar, is considered to
be the most auspicious
month of the year. It is
dedicated to Lord Shiva
who, according to Hindu
religious beliefs, is the
creator, preserver, and
destroyer of this universe.
PANDEMIC IMPACT: INDIGO TO
LAY OFF 10% EMPLOYEES
New Delhi: IndiGo has decided to lay off 10 %of
its workforce due to the economic crisis caused
by the coronavirus pandemic, its CEO Ronojoy
Dutta said,”From where things stand currently, it
is impossible for our company to fly through this
economic storm without making some sacrific-
es, in order to sustain our business operations.
Therefore, after carefully assessing all possible
scenarios, it is clear that we will need to bid a pain-
ful adieu to 10% of our workforce. It is for the first
time that we have undertaken such a painful measure.
SENSEX SOARS 399 PTS; NIFTY
TOPS 11,000-LEVEL: SOURCES
Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex surged 399
points to settle at 37,419, driven by gains in
financial and IT counters, shrugging off concerns
over mounting COVID-19 cases. Starting the ses-
sion on a positive note, the BSE gauge marked
the day’s high at 37,479, before closing at
37,418.99, up 398.85 points or 1.08%. Broader
NSE Nifty rose 120.50 points or 1.11 % to end at
11,022.20. On Sensex chart, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj
Finserv, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HDFC
Bank ICICI Bank were among the gainers.
BABRI MOSQUE DEMOLITION CASE:
ADVANI TO DEPOSE ON JULY 24
Lucknow: A special CBI
court on Monday, set July
24 for recording the state-
ment of former deputy
prime minister L K Advani
in the Babri mosque dem-
olition case. His state-
ment under section 313
of CrPC will be recorded
through video conferenc-
ing. In his order, Special
Judge SK Yadav also fixed
July 23 for recording the
statement of BJP leader
Murli Manohar Joshi
through video conferenc-
ing. The court set July 22
for former Shiv Sena MP
Satish Pradhan to depose
before it through video
link. The court is conduct-
ing proceedings under
Section 313 of CrPC to
enable all accused to
plead their innocence, if
they so want.
HEAVY RAINS IN DELHI FOR 3 DAYS: IMD
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
@priyankagandhi
Floods in many areas
of Assam, Bihar and UP
have disrupted life. The
crisis has affected lakhs
of people. We are ready
to help people affected
by the floods. I appeal
to Congress workers
and leaders to do every-
thing possible to help
the affected people.”
New Delhi: Amid con-
tinuing tensions on bor-
der with China, the In-
dian Air Force (IAF) is
scheduled to induct the
first batch of five Rafale
fighter jets from France
at the Air Force Station,
Ambala, on July 29, sub-
ject to weather condi-
tions. The final induc-
tion ceremony will take
place in the second half
of August. Acting on a
special request by IAF,
France has accelerated
the deliveries of Rafale
fighters to India.
IAF to induct
five Rafales
on July 29 DUBEY’S AIDES VAJPAYEE, SHUKLA HELD
YSRCP’S REBEL MP
DONATES SALARY
Amravati: YSR Con-
gress Party’s rebel MP
K. Raghu Ramakrish-
na Raju on Monday,
donated his three
months salary for the
construction of Ram
temple at Ayodhya.
The member of Lok
Sabha from Narsapu-
ram constituency in
Andhra Pradesh sent a
cheque of Rs 3.96 lakh
to Ram Janambhoomi
Teerth Kshetra.
Rather, it is the Shiv
Sena which laid the road
to the Ram temple. The
Shiv Sena removed the
main roadblocks in the
run up to the construc-
tion of the temple at the
place where Lord Ram
was born. That was not
for politics. But the Shiv
Sainiks made sacrifices
out of faith and Hindutva.
And our relation is intact.
—Sanjay Raut
Shiv Sena Leader
Jagat Prakash Nadda@JPNadda
We saw yet another (failed) edition of
‘Project RG Relaunch’ today. Rahul
Gandhi Ji was, as usual, weak on facts
and strong on mudslinging. Attempts
to politicise defence and foreign policy
matters shows one dynasty’s des-
peration to wash their past sins of
1962 and weaken India.
They understand that in order
for Mr Narendra Modi to be an
effective politician; in order for
Mr Narendra Modi to survive
as a politician, he has to
protect the idea of ‘Chhapan
Inch’. And this is the real idea,
the Chinese are attacking.
—Rahul Gandhi, Cong Leader

BJP rises...
for the district pan-
chayat and municipal
corporation polls,
which are due in De-
cember.
By appointing Patil,
BJP national president
JP Nadda--with clear-
ance from Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi and
the Rashtriya Swayam-
sevak Sangh (RSS)--has
sent a clear message to
state leaders that not
only will infighting and
groupism not be enter-
tained anymore, the
party is also done toler-
ating any pressure tac-
tics in terms of caste
and community.
Until recently, the
BJP was considered to
be a party that owed a
large chunk of its sup-
porttothePatidars--an
image that has caused
the party base to take
a considerable hit. Pa-
til’s appointment will
neutralize some domi-
nant groups and caste
equations within the
party.
Moreover, while
Modi, during his ten-
ure had effectively
quashed the old fac-
tions--of supports of
Keshubhai Patel and
Sanjay Joshi--he had
failed to notice the
growing discord be-
tween the two groups
headed by Amit Shah
and Anandiben Patel.
Raj HC...
The notices to the MLAs
were served after their
party complained to the
Speaker that they had
defied a whip to attend
two Congress Legisla-
ture Party meetings last
week. The Pilot camp,
however, argues that a
party whip applies only
when the Assembly is in
session.
In its complaint to
the speaker, the Con-
gress had sought action
against Pilot and the
other dissidents under
paragraph 2(1) (a) of the
Tenth Schedule of the
Constitution.
WB to...
in a few areas in West
Bengal, state home
secretary Alapan Ban-
dyopadhyay said. On
Sunday, the COVID-19
death toll in West Ben-
gal reached 1,112 after
36 people succumbed
to the disease, the
highest so far in a sin-
gle day.
Says it...
However, under Sec-
tion 6, the CBI requires
general consent before
investigating a matter
in a state. According to
the officials, now the
consent will have to be
taken on a case-by-
case basis.
Additional Chief Sec-
retary Home Rohit Ku-
mar Singh said, “Its
administrative provi-
sions were already
there, it was notified
yesterday.”
Officials said that in
June 1990 too the Rajas-
than government had
refused to give such
‘’general consent’’ to
the Centre.
One more...
Nobody believed me
when I used to say that
conspiracy is going on
to topple the govern-
ment. Nobody knew
that a person with such
an innocent face will do
such a thing.”
He claimed that the
MLAs in Pilot’s faction
are being held captive.
“Our MLAs are stay-
ing without any re-
strictions but they
have held their MLAs
captive. They are call-
ing us and crying over
the phone while ex-
plaining their ordeal.
Their mobile phones
have been snatched.
Some of them want to
join us,” Gehlot said.
This comes even as
Rajasthan Congress
continues to remain in
turmoil after simmer-
ing differences be-
tween Pilot and Gehlot
came out in the open.
—With Agency inputs
Taming Corona...
Phase one will also in-
clude three variations
of the vaccine with two
different doses to test
the efficacy of each dos-
age.
Once the safety of the
vaccine is established
in phase one, phase two
of the trial will com-
mence, which will re-
cruit 750 people be-
tween the ages of 12 and
65.
“If we find [the vac-
cine] is safe, immunoge-
netic (has the ability to
provide enough anti-
bodies) and has no is-
sues of side effects, we
should be able to have a
result in the next two to
three months. But we
must follow up with
subjects for 28 days and
then again at a later
stage,” Guleria said.
Covaxin was devel-
oped by Bharat Bio-
tech, and is backed by
the ICMR and the Na-
tional Institute of Vi-
rology. —Agencies
ICC postpones...
from October 18-Novem-
ber 15 but Cricket Aus-
tralia, in May itself, had
intimated ICC that it
would be near impossi-
ble to stage a closed-door
event of this magnitude
with quarantine ar-
rangement of 16 interna-
tional teams. —Agencies
FROM PG 1
INDIAAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
New Delhi: India’s
COVID-19 case tally
crossed the 11-lakh
mark on Monday, while
the total number of re-
covered patients in-
creased to over seven
lakh, according to Un-
ion health ministry
data. The death toll due
to the disease rose to
27,497 with 681 fatalities
reported in one day.
The data showed that
a record single-day
jump of 40,425 COV-
ID-19 cases had taken
the total number of
cases to 11,18,043.
This is also the first
time that the single-day
spike in cases has
crossed the 40,000-mark.
There are 3,90,459 ac-
tive cases in the coun-
try, while 7,00,086 peo-
ple have recovered. The
recovery rate stands at
62.62 %. —PTI
India’s tally crosses 11Lakh markThe death toll due to the disease rose to 27,497, while 7L have recovered so far, said Health Ministry
New Delhi: Congress
leader Priyanka Gan-
dhi Vadra on Monday
attacked the Yogi Adity-
anath government in
UP over its handling of
COVID-19 crisis, saying
the state government’s
press conferences that
“play like a tape record-
er” will not work any-
more and attention will
have to be paid to the
prevailing situation.
The Congress gen-
eral secretary has been
criticising the state
government’s response
to the COVID-19 crisis,
alleging that it is in-
dulging in propagan-
da, instead of dealing
with the coronavirus
pandemic.
“There are reports
that beds in govern-
ment hospitals of the
two major cities of UP
— Lucknow and Gora-
khpur — are full. Coro-
navirus cases are rising
and this condition of
hospitals is worrying,”
Priyanka Gandhi said
in a tweet in Hindi.
“The concerns that
were raised before the
government three
months ago are turning
out to be real. Now, the
UP government’s press
conferences that play
like a tape recorder will
not work. Attention will
have to be paid to the
prevailing situation,”
she said.
The tally in UP rose to
49,247 on Sunday.—ANI
‘Press meets playing like
recorder won’t work’
PRIYANKA SLAMS UP GOVT OVER CORONA RESPONSE
Lucknow: Stressing
that a large number of
asymptomatic corona-
virus patients are still
hiding their infection,
Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath on Monday asked
officials to allow home
quarantine only if all
protocols related to the
disease are followed.
At a meeting with
senior officials, the
chief minister directed
that home quarantine
permission should be
given only on compli-
ance of the already set
protocol for it, an offi-
cial release said.
Fearing that there
may be a spurt in cases
as a large number of
asymptomatic people
are hiding their infec-
tion, the CM said it
will be essential that
the patient and his
family complies with
the protocol. People
should be apprised of
necessary precautions
for which an aware-
ness campaign should
also be launched with
the help of the print,
electronic & social me-
dia, the CM said.—ANI
‘Allow home quarantine
only if protocols followed’
New Delhi: Union
MSME Minister Nitin
Gadkari on Monday,
urged e-commerce ma-
jor, Amazon to list prod-
ucts from small busi-
nesses separately on its
platform and help mi-
cro entrepreneurs mar-
ket their goods globally.
Highlighting that the
micro, small and medi-
umenterprises(MSME)
sector is a major job
creator and backbone
of the Indian economy,
Gadkari said the quali-
ty of their products is
good but more expertise
is needed in design and
packaging.
“I would request you,
if it is possible, to find
out a solution for MS-
MEs. With your inter-
national exposure, if
you can plan product
designing and giving
new vision, awareness,
product development to
all entrepreneurs, re-
garding what global
companies want. Its a
win-win situation. It
will increase your turn-
over and help Indian
economy,” the Union
Minister said.He was
speaking at the unveil-
ing of Amazon’s Ex-
ports Digest 2020.
Gadkari said the
MSME sector accounts
for 30 per cent of India’s
growth and about 48 per
cent of the country’’s
exports.
Gadkari added the vi-
sion is to increase the
contribution of MSMEs
to 60 per cent of India’’s
exports within the next
five years.
“The rural, tribal &
agri sections of econo-
my need to be devel-
oped on a priority ba-
sis. 65 % of our popula-
tion belongs to these
areas. There are 115
aspirational districts
where per capita in-
come is very negligi-
ble.” “Goods exported
from Indian MSMEs
via the programme can
be classified into mi-
cro, small & medium.
My suggestion is to
also make a separate
category of handloom,
handicrafts, particu-
larly agro-MSMEs,”
Gadkari added. —PTI
Help Indian MSMEs market products globally: Gadkari to Amazon
UNCERTAINTY IN CBDT?
Member CBDT, SK Gupta is scheduled to retire
on July 31. Now picture is still not clear that
whether he would get extension.If he gets exten-
sion, then there is a possibility of his becoming
the Chairman next month. If he doesn’t get exten-
sion, it means present Chairman PC Modi would
get an extension for one year.
2000 BATCH IRS-IT OFFICERS
UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR JS
EMPANELMENT
The Indian Revenue Service of Income Tax cadre
(IRS-IT) officers of 2000 batch are being consid-
ered for the empanelment at Joint Secretary level
in Government of India.
RAJYA SABHA SECRETARY GENERAL
TO RETIRE IN AUGUST
Tenure of Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh
Deepak Verma is coming to an end in August.
He is a 1978 batch former IAS officer of Uttar
Pradesh cadre.
VACANCIES IN IT SETTLEMENT
COMMISSION
There are presently two vacancies in Mumbai and
one vacancy in Delhi in the Income Tax Settle-
ment Commission.
DEEPAM SETH HEADING ITBP
ON LADAKH BORDER
Deepam Seth is presently IG in the ITBP on
the Ladakh border. The 1995 batch IPS officer
of Uttarakhand cadre, has succeeded Arvind
Kumar, who is now Special DG in Madhya
Pradesh.
VIKRAM SINGH IS NOW JS, SHIPPING
Private Secretary to the President Ram Nath
Kovind, Vikram Singh joined as Joint Secretary
in the Ministry of Shipping on Monday. He is a
1997 batch IRTS officer.
ELEVATION OF JUDICIAL OFFICERS
STILL PENDING IN MP ?
Elevation of Judicial officers in the Madhya
Pradesh High Court is reportedly still pending.
The approved three names are said to be the
bone of contention.
JUSTICE LALIT IS NEW MEMBER
OF SC COLLEGIUM
After the retirement of Justice R Banumathi,
Justice UU Lalit is new Member of the Supreme
Court Collegium with effect from July 20.
MEMBER(PERS) IN PRASAR BHARTI
WON’T BE RECRUITED?
If sources are to be believed, the post of Mem-
ber(Pers) for Prasar Bharti Board is not to be
filled in near future. Reason is, since the MIB
has constituted a recruitment board and thus,
chances of any such appointment are remote
till the Board frames service rules. The post of
Member(Pers) is vacant since February 2017.
MANISHA SAXENA APPOINTED AS
ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR,
INDRAPRASTHA GAS LTD
Manisha Saxena, presently Secretary-cum-Com-
missioner Transport, Government of NCT,
has been appointed as an Additional Director,
Indraprastha Gas Limited. She is a 1986 batch
Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of
AGMUT cadre.
MOHD AHSAN REZA IS ALSO DG, AP
STATE DISASTER RESPONSE IN
ANDHRA PRADESH
Mohd Ahsan Reza has been assigned an addi-
tional charge of Director General, Andhra Pradesh
State Disaster Response and Fire Services in
Andhra Pradesh. He is a 1991 batch IPS officer.
POWERGallery
Inputs from : http://whispersinthecorridors.com
“The way in which
COVID-19 pandemic
is assuming a horri-
ble shape in UP - the
most populous state
in the country, which
is poor and back-
ward - is a matter
of serious concern.
The pandemic will be
controlled by making
proper arrangements
and not by ‘jugaad’.
—MAYAWATI, BSP Chief
DEATH TOLL IN UP
RISES TO 1,192
Health workers rest during a COVID-19 medical check-up at a residential area at Malad in Mumbai on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Nitin Gadkari

TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
WHY ARE FLOODS NECESSARY IN
or the last week, Assam has been reeling from disastrous
flooding that, according to the latest reports, has displaced
over 34 lakh people over 33 of its districts. The state’s larg-
est river, Brahmaputra, along with eight others, are over-
flowing at dangerous levels, with the India Meteorological
Department forecasting more rain in the coming days.
Flood waters have submerged over 3,300 villages, de-
stroying 1.28 lakh hectares of crop in the process, as per
the Assam disaster management authority. Thousands
have also now been shifted to relief camps, as the north-
east state contends with the double threat of flooding, as
well as COVID-19.
Assam is no stranger at all to flooding having experi-
enced a flood of similar magnitude at nearly the exact time
last year. The state experienced a deluge in mid-July 2019
that, reportedly, affected nearly 60 lakh of its inhabitants.
But why exactly does Assam continue to be so flood-prone
despite its familiarity with flooding?
Over the years, another mitigation
measure has been artificial high-
lands (111 in the Nineties, 33 in 2016-
17) built inside the park for wild ani-
mals to take refuge in during the
flood.
While these highlands have helped
a fair bit in reducing the number of
animal casualties during floods,
some feel that it is not a ‘permanent
solution’.
“Animals do take refuge there —
especially rhino and swamp deer —
but it is not viable to build more high-
lands since such constructions will
ruin the natural ecosystem,” said
Sarma, terming the highlands a
“temporary refuge.”
Experts believe that emphasis needs
to be put on securing animal corri-
dors and ensuring a safe passage to
the Karbi hills.
To that end, a 35-km-long flyover
constructed over NH-37 was proposed
by the Centre in September 2019.
“While this flyover will help, 35 km
is a lengthy stretch and might take
time to build,” said Sivakumar, “So
the focus should be on doing it quick-
ly, using modern technology that will
cause minimal disturbance to the
animals during construction.”
In April 2019, the Supreme Court
banned all types of mining and re-
lated activities along with the park’s
southern boundary and in the en-
tire catchment area of the rivers
that originate in the Karbi Anglong
hill ranges and flow into Kaziranga,
as well as new construction activi-
ties in private lands on nine animal
corridors.
How helpful are Kaziranga’s artificial highlands?Why are floods so destructive and
unstable in Assam?
How do these characteristics of the river relate to flooding?
What measures are taken to prepare for the flood?
Has the government tried to address
the factors that cause floods?
So what is the solution?
n SOURCE: AGENCIES n CONCEPT: DIVYA HAMNANI n DESIGN: SITARAM SHARMA
At the crux is the very nature of the river Brahmaputra —dy-
namic and unstable. Its 580,000 sq km basin spreads over four
countries: China, India, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, with diverse
environments. In terms of sediment yield, two spots along the
Brahmaputra’s course were at second and third places in 2008,
behind the Yellow River whose annual sediment yield is 1,403
tonnes per sq km. The Brahmaputra’s annual sediment yield
was 1,128 tonnes per sq km at Bahadurabad of Bangladesh,
and 804 tonnes per sq km at Pandu of Guwahati.
 The vast amount of sediment comes from Tibet, where the
river originates. “That region is cold, arid, and lacks planta-
tion. Glaciers melt, soil erodes and all of it results in a high-
ly sedimented river.
 By the time the river enters Assam — a state comprising
primarily floodplains surrounded by hills on all sides — it
deposits vast amounts of this silt, leading to erosion and
floods.
As the river comes from a high slope to a flat plain, its veloc-
ity decreases suddenly and this results in the river unloading
the sediment.
 Again, because of the earthquake-prone nature of the re-
gion, the river has not been able to acquire a stable character.
 Following the devastating earthquake of 1950, the level of
the Brahmaputra rose by two metres in Dibrugarh area in
eastern Assam.
Preparedness begins a month before floods hit. The author-
ities keep a track of updates from the Central Water Com-
mission, and monitor water levels of the Brahmaputra
tributaries upstream in Arunachal Pradesh.
According to Dr Pandey, the civil administration, park
authority, NGOs, and local communities work together to
tackle the floods. “To avoid disease outbreaks, a door-to-door
vaccination is organised every year pre-floods,” he said.
Moreover, when the floods hit, Section 144 is imposed
along NH-37, speed limits are enforced and fines levied. Bar-
ricades are also placed to help animals cross over to Karbi
Anglong.
 In its master plan on the river in 1982, the Brahmaputra Board
had suggested that dams and reservoirs be built to mitigate
floods.
 The idea of dams, however, has traditionally been a double-
edged sword. While one of their objectives is to regulate the
release of floodwaters, the release when it comes can some-
times be beyond the capacity of the channels downstream.
 In the Brahmaputra basin, locals and environmentalists pro-
testedagainstdam-buildingplansongroundsof displacement.
A herd of wild elephants takes shelter inside the ﬂooded range of Kaziranga National Park.Central Water Commission said the water level is rising by 2-3 centimetres per hour.At least 15 teams of the NDRF have been deployed in the state.
The northeastern state of Assam has been ravaged by torrential rainfall and subsequent ﬂoods.
Seen here
are villagers
in Katahguri
village along
the river
Brahma
-putra, east
of Guwahati.
(Image:
Reuters)

Regret is like a dark dark
river that sweeps away
everything, the good with
the bad too.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India
AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
08
2NDFRONT
Remember Sheila ji on her first punya tithi. Her
demise has left an irreplaceable void for the
people of Delhi & the Congress party.
@ahmedpatel
First India Bureau
Ahmedabad: GTU
students have come
up with the perfect
solution to keep
hands sanitized and
safe during the coro-
na pandemic. Sanitiz-
ing / washing hands,
physical distancing
and wearing a mask
are the three critical
points of corona pro-
tocol and protecting
oneself from it. They
have made
unique hand sani-
tizer bands- called G
Bands using Thermo
plastic elastomers. The
band can be used on the
go for sanitizing hands
just by pressing it, the
G Bands offer a conven-
ient option for people
to maintain hand hy-
giene.
“Sarthak Baxi,
Kartik Sheladiya, Sa-
gar Thakkar, Karan
Patel and Jagrut
Dave from the alumni
of 2010 batch of GTU
thought of a product
that can replace a
sanitiser spray or
bottle while going
out. So they came up
with refillable and
wearable G Bands.
The product is priced
at Rs 299 and will
soon be available for
a larger public. It has
also been filed for a
patent.
Vice-Chancellor Dr
Navin Sheth said apart
from the G bands, the
innovators from GTU
have come with a range
of innovative products
in the wake of Covid 19
pandemic.
Taking into ac-
count the concerns of
the people on the
quality and effective-
ness of the sanitizer
they are using GTU
has started testing
the samples for the
common man. GTU of-
ficials said that citizens
interested in getting
their sanitisers tested
can call 079 2326 7537 to
register. Varsity offi-
cials will collect the
samples. They have
three laboratories -LD
College of Engineering,
GTU Chandkheda and
Gandhinagar. People
can drop the samples to
GTU once the lockdown
is lifted. The result will
be conveyed to them by
the varsity officials.
GCMMF claims 600
MT ghee worth
`40 cr adulterated
4 dead, 3 others critical in car-truck
collision on Amreli-Bagasara road
First India Bureau
Mehsana: Gujarat Co-
operative Milk Mar-
keting Federation
(GCMMF) in a letter
addressed to the
Dudhsagar Moti
dairy ordered to stall
the dispatch of 600
Metric tons of Ghee
having a market val-
ue of Rs 40cr as the
stock failed the stand-
ard testing and adul-
teration was found.
Dudhsagar is a brand
of Mehsana District,
Director Baldev Chaud-
hary has demanded to
destroy the stock at the
earliest. Chaudhary in
a video clip stating that
there is no reason not to
believe the federation
because Rajasthan po-
lice have registered a
criminal complaint
against the contractor,
who found to be adulter-
ating the pure ghee.
Chaudhary’s said if
anyone has doubts
about the sample test-
ed, we are open for
the second opinion or
getting it tested with
a third laboratory. He
has appealed the
dairy board to take
the necessary actions
at the earliest in the
larger interest of the
people’s health.
First India Bureau
Rajkot: On Monday
evening a family of
Gavadka village of
Amreli taluka was go-
ing to Bagasra to at-
tend a social function.
Where the car had a
collision with a truck
on Amreli-Bagasara
Road in Gujarat. Ac-
cording to police, four
fatalities were found
and three members of
the family were in-
jured in which two of
them were in a criti-
cal state and have im-
mediately taken to
Amreli civil hospital
An ambulance atten-
dant who first reached
the spot said, “Three
ambulances were sent
to the spot where 4 peo-
ple were found dead
while 3 others were in-
jured and have taken to
the hospital”.
Students made sanitizer bands using thermo plastic elastomers.
THE NEW ABNORMAL
The police have registered a case of violating COVID-19 notifications against 21 persons after
photos emerged showing a large number of people gathered on the Sabarmati River Front in
the Ahmedabad's Shahibaug area, to mark the religious occasion of 'Savan ka Somvar'.
The figures were shared by the Gujarat forest department via a committee formed by the Centre
First India Bureau
Surat: The Indian tex-
tile ministry recently
opposed the final
findings of the Direc-
torate General of
Trade Remedies
(DGTR) recommend-
ing the imposition of
anti-dumping duty
(ADD) on nylon mul-
tifilament yarn. In a
letter to the deputy
secretary of the de-
partment of revenue,
the textile ministry
stated that nylon mul-
tifilament yarn is a
key raw material for
the power loom in-
dustry, including
knitting and weaving.
There should not be
any ADD imposed on
the import of yarn from
China, Korea, Taiwan,
and Thailand, the letter
said.
Power loom weavers
in Gujarat’s Surat, Ma-
harashtra, and other
states have been oppos-
ing the DGTR’s recom-
mendation of imposing
ADD on the nylon mul-
ti-filament yarn.
Weavers have stated
the quality of nylon
yarn manufactured by
the domestic yarn spin-
ners were not up to the
mark and the weavers
are forced to import bet-
ter quality yarn from
other countries to re-
duce production loss
and to supply quality
fabrics in the domestic
and international mar-
kets. However, there is
no harm to the domes-
tic industry and the de-
mand for ADD is not
justifiable.
Nylon fabrics are
used in the parachute,
technical textiles,
garments, and knit-
ted garments.
Shishir Awasthi
Ahmedabad: In spite
of 331 leonine deaths
in 2018-19 the Guja-
rat government has
been sitting on the Rs
26 crore, that was
meant for the conser-
vation of the endan-
gered Asiatic lion in
the state’s Asiatic
Lion Landscape
(ALL).
The figures were
shared by the Gujarat
forest department with
a committee created by
the Union Ministry of
Environment, Forest
and Climate Change
(MoEF&CC) on May 29,
2020 to look into the
high mortality rate of
Asiatic lions in ALL.
Of the total of Rs.
38 crore (17 crore in
2018-19 and 21 crore
in 2019-20) as the
Centre’s contribution
for the Asiatic Lion
Conservation Project
under the Centrally
Sponsored Scheme
for Development of
Wildlife Habitat , the
government could
manage to spend only
Rs. 7 crore.
The lackadaisical
and negligent attitude
does not end here, they
have failed to fill the va-
cant positions also.
Barely half the sanc-
tioned positions of for-
est guards in the Juna-
gadh Wildlife Circle
and Gir (East) Division
have been filled and
similar vacancies are
there in the two forest
administrative units
and the veterinary doc-
tors division too.
The state govern-
ment has not been
able to create a vac-
cine yet. The Gujarat
Biotechnology Re-
search Centre has
done the Sero preva-
lence of Canine Dis-
temper Virus in Asi-
atic Lions of Gir and
has been asked to de-
velop a canine dis-
temper vaccine.
During 2 weeks in
September 2018, the
unusual death of 28 li-
ons of all age groups
was reported from Gir
Wildlife Sanctuary and
1,300 doses of purevax
ferret distemper vac-
cine (Merial, USA)
were procured. Of
them, 1,100 were uti-
lised for active immu-
nization of the lion
population. However,
procurement of anoth-
er 1,000 doses of this
vaccine is in process,”
the committee report
said.
Eighty-five lions
have died between Jan-
uary and May 2020, ac-
cording to the report
and submitted by the
committee appointed
by the MoEF&CC to the
ministry and the Prime
Minister’s Office in the
first week of June. In
2018 and 2019, a total of
112 and 134 lions died
in ALL, the report said.
Of the 85 lions that
died in early 2020, al-
most half (44) died due
to diseases.
No ADD imposition on
powerloom industry
331 Deaths And 25 Cr Unspent
TRAGIC TALE OF ASIATIC LIONS
Bankmanager,three
othersheldforfraud
First India Bureau
Vadodara: A manager
of a Vadodara-based
public sector bank
was arrested on Mon-
day along with three
others for allegedly
withdrawing Rs 1.75
crore from a fixed de-
posit and transferring
the money to two oth-
er accounts using
forged documents, po-
lice said.
The money had been
initially deposited by
liquidator of a coopera-
tive bank.
‘Amul Mohod, the
manager of Diwalipura
branch of Punjab Na-
tional Bank in Va-
dodara, was arrested by
the city crime branch
along with three others
on charges of cheating,
forgery, and criminal
conspiracy,’ said DCP
(Crime), Vadodara, Jay-
deepsinh Jadeja.
He said the liquidator
of AnyonyaCooperative
Bank had stated in a
complaint that some
unidentified persons
withdrew Rs 1.75 crore
from the bank branch
after he deposited it on
January 16, 2020.
Jadeja said Rs
1,75,48,544 were with-
drawn along with accu-
mulatedinterestthrough
a demand draft payable
at Kolhapur district us-
ing bogus documents.
Three other accused are
identifiedasRahulShah
and Bhupesh Surati,
both residents of Mum-
bai, and Kiran Panchal,
a resident of
Ahmedabad.
Anti-dumping duty will not be foisted on nylon multifilament yarn.
TRAGIC END
The accused in custody of Vadodara police.
GTU STUDENTS G ‘BAND’OBAST FOR SAFETY
IN OPPOSITION

rom‘Khudabachaaye
teri mast mast aank-
honse...farishtahoto
behak jaaye aadmi
kya hai’ by Jaan Ni-
sar Akhtar to Ben
Jonson’s‘Drinktome
only with thine eyes’ this fea-
ture of the face has been the
most popular in literature.
Eyes tend to feature in both
genres – love and heartbreak!
Some are born with natu-
rally beautiful eyes; in Bol-
lywood, some of the most
beautiful eyes belonged to
Vijyantimala and Hema Ma-
lini, who knew how to use
them best and most expres-
sively due to their classical
dance training which actu-
ally teachers nuances of the
eyes. Madhubala with her
sparkling eyes conveyed life
in all it’s totality. Rakhee and
Rekha, both had large soulful
eyes which spoke a language
of their own.
It is not an easy task to
shortlist who has the most
beautiful eyes in our film in-
dustry as most heroines have
been bestowed with gorgeous
eyes and if not they have
known how to make them
beautiful with the use of cos-
metics and expressions.
In today’s stars, I love So-
nakshi’s eyes, truly al-
mond-shaped they speak
about love and hold a
deep ocean in their
depths, much of the
passion unspoken in
them. ‘Kajraare ka-
jraare tere kaal kaale
naina’, Aishwarya’s
eyes never sparkled
more than when she won
the Miss World in 1994
and for someone as beau-
tiful as she is, her eyes
are still her best feature.
Kajol’s eyes are dreamy,
they speak of a small-
town love and big
dreams and in mo-
ments of laughter
they are her best
point-full of life,
they define her!
Kareena has
amazing green
eyes that are
confident and
clear and speak of her strong
family that stands tall in the
industry. Her sister, Karisma
Kapoor also had beautiful
blue eyes that wooed an en-
tire generation. Lisa Haydon
is also one of my choices for
lovely eyes, she might not
have made much of a mark as
an actor yet but her eyes are
worth a million dollars.
I feel that beautiful eyes if
not expressive lose most of
their beauty. Wide-open with
the miracles of life squeezed
shut in laughter or brimming
with tears- our eyes show us
for who we are!
The most beautiful
eyes in the world?
A mother’s eyes
when she looks at
her child- noth-
ing can beat
that!
IN AANKHON KI
MASTI KE...Eyes are said to be the window to the soul and a study has found that
both men and women rate a person’s eyes more important than other
facial features when seeking for a potential partner!
ANITA HADA
anita.hada@firstindianews.com
Rekha, both had large soulful
eyes which spoke a language
of their own.
they define her!
Kareena has
amazing green
eyes that are
confident and
AHMEDABAD, TUESDAY
JULY 21, 2020
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
F

10
ETCAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
FACEOFTHEDAY
ASHI KHANNA, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You have raised some real
ethical, well mannered and
cultured kids and these kids
will surely help you if there
is any financial requirement ever in
your life. You will successfully fetch a
good price for your property. Seeing
the current situation travelling outside
your city should be avoided.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
Life is too short to keep
resentments and in the end
it will keep troubling you
only therefore quit ego and
resolved your issues on social front.
On professional front, you
networking skills will be really helpful
for you. Someone in your
environment will boost your morale.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Do a favour to yourself
and let go of your worries
for sometime, life has
many other things to offer.
You will spend your day in taking
care of your spouse and kids and
catering to needs. You will deliver
work expected from you on time and
you can expect magical results.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
On social front, you are
sometimes involved in
listening to even wrong
people because you are a
very good listener but you must strictly
refrain at all costs from doing that as it
can cause damage to your image as
well. Don’t lie to your parents in any
way which will tear their soul apart.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
You have the luck by your
side in terms of hiring the
best team for your
business with absolute
brilliant minds. You need not worry
about your finances as they are in
safe hands. You must not wait for
someone to motivate you, trust
yourself and derive motivation within.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
You will spend a very
comfortable relaxing day
today. You are not scared of
what life will through at you
as you deeply believe in karma. Life is
good and easy for you though you
sometimes struggles with emotions
but thats normal. Your spouse will
surprise you with good food today.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
Be very clear with terms
and conditions in your
business, let no one take
advantage from the
loopholes. Life is good for you and
you always tends to express
gratitude to the almighty. You are
brave just like a lion and your
capabilities speak for yourself.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
A Charity is important
specially if God has given
you some power because
with power comes
responsibilities. You will outsmart
your colleagues in office today. You
may feel tempted to do something
big for someone but your must also
keep in mind your limits.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
Your pocket is full when
many are even struggling
for one time food therefore
use this money judiciously
and show some devotion to social
causes as well. Its ok to own your
mistake, it won’t make you small.
You may take help from your father
as far as career advice is concerned.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You have to give purpose
to your life as without it
everything is meaningless
and there is just no fun.
Keep growing in the business of self
improvement as someday you will do
something big and will make
everyone proud. You must introduce
yourself to new fitness programs.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Your property related
queries will get answered
today. You can expect
good returns from your
business but make sure to make a
good investment of the same money.
You will soon get a hike in salary.
You like to serve people and do the
best you can for them.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
You have to make sure in
life that you don’t hurt
anyone both intentionally
and unintentionally. Your
cards indicate a change of job and a
higher income. It will be good for
your health if you stay miles away
from stress or do some exercises
that will help you to remain calm.
YOUR
DAYHoroscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
LOSTDREAMSDUETODEMONETIZATION
arita Pillai (Saiy-
ami Kher), a tired
bank cashier, had
asked her husband
Sushant (Roshan
Mathew), unem-
ployed failed musi-
cian hopping jobs, to stay
away from home for a day.
She had a chai-tambola ses-
sionplannedthatafternoon.
But the unavailing, drifting
Sushant fails to stay away.
As they go to their bed that
night, in their cramped
house in a Mumbai Chawl,
they scuffle, their 10-year-
old son sleeping in between
them. He was the only wit-
ness to their earlier agree-
ment, and he is the only one
to bring an end to the disa-
greement with his opinion.
It is unsettling, but intimate
– two warring spouses try-
ing to find a middle-ground
through their only off-
spring. It’s also telling of the
despair in life when there’s
little money at disposal and
everything looks bleak.
Choked: Paisa Bolta Hai,
directed by Anurag Kashy-
ap (story by Nihit Bhave), is
about spouses Sarita and
Sushant, migrants in Mum-
bai from Konkan and Kar-
nataka, who are choking
under the burden of finan-
cially fragile life. The
dreams – of becoming a
singer and a musician re-
spectively – with which they
had come to Mumbai has
faded long back in just an at-
tempt to make a decent liv-
ing. Love has lost its charm
in the absence of money. If
Sarita is haunted by the
thought of strobe light fall-
ing on her in a packed audi-
torium where she froze dur-
ing a performance years
ago, Sushant’s artistic ego
has taken precedence and if
anything, he seems disen-
chanted by the daily chores
of lifesaddlingthewifewith
all the responsibilities.
But then, something un-
expected happens. Wads of
cash start spewing out of
Sarita’s clogged kitchen
sink pipe. The everyday
dreariness is replaced by
new enthusiasm to liven up
her life. The penny pincher
in her is slowly giving way
to a spender, surprising the
husband who is still living
under the stress of debt. Un-
expected strikes again; this
time as the demonetization
move of the Modi govern-
ment. Sushant, with frac-
tional money in his pocket,
celebrates: “ab maza aaye-
ga”. He anticipates hoards
of black money to come out
from the rich. Sarita gets
buried in work – with the
insurmountable transac-
tions happening in her bank
even as she keeps plotting
the way to exchange her old
currency notes.
Is it possible to have
Kashyap make a film with-
out politics intricately wo-
ven into the story? Seems
unlikely, even when during
the promotions of the film
he has called it his warmest
film with shades of Abhi-
maan and Sai Paranjpye
films.Of course,ithasthose
shades. And, maybe that’s
why the opening music
score (inspired by Federico
Fellini’s 8 ½) fits perfectly
well too. Like Fellini’s film
that focuses on the battles
of a creative person blurs
the line between creativity
and personal struggles, and
charts on a territory of find-
ing happiness within a life
struck with intermittent
difficulties, Choked, too,
primarily explores that.
But the film is as much a
critique of the government,
of the social structure, and
of gender biases that come
into play in everyday lives.
The story that unfolds in
October of 2016 takes into
account the Modi govern-
ment’s demonetization
move that year, two years
into power as people wait
for ache din. The politics in
the film doesn’t reveal it-
self easily. It is, instead,
subtly peppered in smaller
moments, more as sub
texts. That one scene when
a customer in the bank
sneers at Kher’s Sarita for
counting the notes three
times and blaming her fem-
ininity for that. Or another
scene amid a dinner when
the news playing on the TV
in the backdrop tells the au-
dience “to be like Modi”
and to eat “mushrooms”.
Or the aimless people of the
Chawl passing time by play-
ing carom that soon turns
into jeering Sushant “for
being the wife” in the rela-
tionship. At various stages,
the film calls out the preva-
lent corruption and then
makes everyone an equal
participant in it. But unlike
Kashyap’s earlier films, the
politics is never overt and
maybe that’s why the film
seems too subdued at most
times, exposing the holes in
the script.
While Kher is surprising
as a non-glamorous, lower-
middle-class woman, who is
quite a contrast to her im-
age; it is Mathew’s Sushant,
who in his portrayal of a
flawed, damaged artiste
grabs attention – often
evoking feelings of disgust.
Then, the neighbours – the
interfering and loud Shar-
vari Tai (Amruta Shubash)
and the nosy Neeta (Ra-
jshree Deshpande), add a
little spice and flavor to the
story.
Sylvester Fonseca’s cam-
erawork that closely cap-
tures the claustrophobia of
life in tenements and goes
deep into capturing little
details is commendable.
Through the film, Karsh
Kale’s music clubbed with
Garima Obrah’s lyrics and
Rachita Arora’s arrange-
ment may not have been
prominent, but as the end
credit rolls and the song,
500-1000, composed on the
tunes of nursery rhymes
plays along, it does the mag-
ic. Echoing the politics of
the filmmaker – visible
more prominently on Twit-
ter -- it may not be wrong to
wonder if the song is going
to become a popular protest
anthem when the nation is
ready for one.
Source: https://www.theweek.in/review/movies/2020/06/05/choked-review-anrag-kashyap-netflix-film-on-demonetisation-lacks-punch.html
S

A
merican actor Megan
Fox and rapper Ma-
chine Gun Kelly’s ro-
mance appears to be
heating up.
According to Page Six, the
pair cuddled up in a group
photo shared on Friday on
Randall Emmett’s Instagram
page as the film director cel-
ebrated production resuming
on his thriller, ‘Midnight in the
Switchgrass,’ in Puerto Rico.
“After four months apart! Grate-
ful to be back in #puertorico
filming with this amazing cast!
Adapting to this new world! All
quarantined together!” the 49-year-
old director Emmett captioned the
shot, which also featured his fian-
cee, Lala Kent as well as stars Lukas
Haas and Emile Hirsch.
Hirsch, who will appear alongside
FoxandKelly,intheforthcomingfilm
also posted the snap on social media.
“Four months later, the gang is quar-
antined together to resume shooting
of Midnight In The Switchgrass in
the amazing Puerto Rico. @randal-
lemmettfilms @lukashaas @lala-
kent @meganfox @machinegunkel-
ly @madisonbigos,” he shared.—ANI
A
s Naseeruddin Shah turned
70 on Monday, several Bolly-
wood celebrities and fans of
thelegendaryactorpouredin
wishes for the ace actor.
AnilKapoor,amongvarious
other celebrities who had
wished, was one of the
first Bollywood celebri-
ties to wish his ‘Woh 7
Din’ co-star on his
birthday. Kapoor
tweetedhismono-
c h r o m a t i c
throwback
p i c t u r e
withShah
fromtheiryoungerdays,compliment-
ingitwithabirthdaywishremember-
ing working with him. “Happy B’day
totheactorwhosecontributiontomy
career is immense #Naseeruddin-
ShahfromdoingWoh7Dintoencour-
aging me to do my first regional Telu-
gu film,” Kapoor tweeted.
“Thanksformakingmerealisethat
acting has no language & for being a
greatinfluenceandinspirationforall
actors,” his tweet further read. Na-
seeruddin Shah is one of the most
celebrated actors of the Hindi film
industry with several accolades in-
cluding three national awards to his
name. —ANI
A
mitabh Bachchan on Sunday dedi-
cated a poem by his father Harivansh
Rai Bachchan to the healthcare
workers who are working relentless-
ly to keep people protected.
“Words from Babuji .. for them that work
tirelessly, relentlessly, unselfishly to keep us
protected,” he stated.
He noted, “Main hoon unke sath khadi, jo
seedhi rakhte apni reedh, Kabhi nahi jo taj
sakte hain apna nyayochit adhikar, Kabhi
nahi jo she sakte hain sheesh nava kar
atyaachar. Ek akele ho, ya unke sath khadi
ho bhari bheed, Main hoon unke sath khadi,
jo seedhi rakhte apni reedh.” The caption
roughly translates to - “I am standing with
them, who keep their spine straight, who can
never let down their right to justice, even if
they are single, or among a crowd of many, I
am standing with them who keep their spine
straight.” —ANI
W
eeks after the
grand an-
n o u n c e -
ment of her
song ‘Black is King,’
24-time Grammy
award winner Be-
yonce’ on Sunday
(local time) dropped
the trailer of the
song on online video
streaming platform
Disney Plus.
The new album,
which is based on the
soundtrack of Dis-
ney’s ‘The Lion King:
The Gift’ has been cu-
rated and executive
produced by Be-
yonce’. The trailer
of the video song
features the musi-
cian’s daughter
Blue Ivy Carter
and several other
celebrities like
Jay-Z, Childish
G a m b i n o ,
Pharrell Wil-
liams, Kend-
rick Lamar,
Tierra Whack,
070 Shake and
Jessie Reyez.
According to a
press release cit-
edbyVariety,‘Black I s
King,’ promises to reimagine
the lessons from ‘The Lion
King’ for “today’s young kings
and queens in search of their
own crowns.”
The trailer further features
the 38-year-old musician narrat-
ing in the background of the trail-
er. According to Variety, the visu-
al album has been filmed in
South Africa, Los Angeles, New
York, London, West Africa and
Belgium.
The visual album has a brief
appearance of Oscar-winning
Kenyan-Mexican actor Lupita
Nyong’o.
The visual album ‘Black Is King’
pays tribute to voyages of Black
families throughout time. It tells
the story of a young king’s “trans-
cendent journey through betrayal,
love, and self-identity.”
The much-awaited album is all set
to drop on the online streaming plat-
form Disney Plus on July 31. —ANI
ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
11
‘BLACK IS
KING’
ctors Katrina Kaif, Ishaan
Khatter and Siddhant
Chaturvedi on Monday an-
nounced that they are all
set to team up for an upcom-
ing horror-comedy film
‘Phone Booth’.
The trio took to Instagram to
share the first look of the film with
their fans and announced that the
film will release in 2021. In the pic-
ture, Katrina, Siddhant and Ishaan
were seen dressed in black coloured
suits with white coloured shirts un-
derneath them.
“The one-stop-shop for all bhoot
related problems, #PhoneBhoot
ringing in cinemas in 2021,” Katrina
wrote in the caption.
While Ishaan, on the other hand,
revealed in his caption that the first
look of the cast of the film has been
“locked”sinceMarchdueto theCOV-
ID-19-induced lockdown and shut-
down of the entertainment industry.
Film critic and trade analyst
Taran Adarsh further revealed that
the film will be directed by Gurm-
meetSinghandbankrolledbyRitesh
Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar.
“IT’S OFFICIAL... #KatrinaKaif,
#SiddhantChaturvedi and
#IshaanKhatter to head the cast of
#PhoneBhoot, a horror-comedy... Di-
rected by Gurmmeet Singh... Pro-
duced by Ritesh Sidhwani and
Farhan Akhtar... Filming will begin
later this year... 2021 release,” tweet-
ed Adarsh. The horror-comedy that
hosts the trio of Katrina, Siddhant
and Ishaan for the first time will go
on the floors later this year. —ANI
A
PHONE BHOOT
WISHES FOR THE
LEGENDARY ACTOR
DEDICATING
WITH LOVE
CHESS
FANATIC
O
n the occasion of Internation-
al Chess Day, former Miss
World and actor Manushi
Chhillar enjoyed a game of
chess with her father Dr Mitra Basu
Chhillar and revealed through an
Instagram post that she is a “com-
petitive” board game player.
The 23-year-old actor posted a
picture of herself and her dad on In-
stagram where the two are
seen deeply concentrating on the
game. “I’m the competitive one,
he’s the mind reader. Irrespective of
who loses, I know he always
wins!#InternationalChessDay.”—ANI
ROMANCE HEATING UP
Katrina Kaif
... her post
Manushi Chillar
... her post
Amitabh Bachchan
Naseeruddin Shah
Beyonce
Randall Emmett’s post
‘PREGGERS’
Nicki Minaj announced her pregnancy
on Instagram on Monday evening,
with a beautiful picture flaunting her
baby bump. She captioned the image,
“#Preggers” with a yellow hear emoji.
Nicki Minaj’s post

ith Goddess, I wanted
the song to be a dec-
laration of the power
of the feminine - and
how when you ac-
cept, surrender and
celebrate it, it will
celebrate you,” said LA/
Mumbai based Independent
singer Nikitaa. The song-
stress is known for her Pop
cultural song. Garnering mil-
lions of views on her You-
Tube channel, fans have gone
Gaga over her new song ‘God-
dess’ that has re-
leased recently. In
an exclusive in-
terview with
City First, Niki-
taa talked
about her mu-
sic journey
along with
her recent
single.
“I’ve al-
ways loved
c l a s s i c a l
Indian and
Middle East-
ern in-
s t r u -
ments -
specifi-
cally percussive and
string instruments, and
I’ve loved finding ways
to mix these in with Pop and
RnB songwriting. It took a
lot of experimentation and
endless writing and recording
to dig into the soundscape I
have created for myself today
because I didn’t have any oth-
er creators to look to for any
kind of inspiration. No one
around me was trying to do
what I was doing, and so I had
to put all my faith in my ideas
and creativity. It wouldn’t
have been possible without
my longtime producer
Mukund Komanduri - who
was there every step of
the way - and my mix
and mastering engi-
neer Aaron Zepeda -
who is always incredibly
patient with me and very
respectful and passionate
about the music I bring to
him,” Nikitaa said while talk-
ing about her journey.
The single ‘Goddess’ has
made every person
that’s heard it so
far feel many
emotions.
“It was a
new kind of
c h a l l e n g e !
This is my
third time di-
recting a music
video, all three of
which I have shot
with the help of my
family in my home
during a lockdown. The
first two were very
straightforward, but
shooting and editing to-
gether so many “me”s
was extremely tough for
someone like me who
had only just learned to
use editing software
and everything that
comes with that! But,
as with the other two
videos, I decided to
keep the focus on
having fun with
the process, rath-
er than stress
over it all. I
think it’s that at-
titude that brought
this video together with the
way it is,” said the singer
about shooting and editing
the song amidst the lock-
down.
On being asked about
the future projects, Ni-
kitaa said, “I’m excited
to keep up the steady re-
lease of music this year,
and hopefully put together a
longer project next year for
release! I want to focus on
carving out space for myself
despite the current circum-
stances of the pandemic and
the lockdown. I have also been
taking this time to get more
involved in the production of
my songs - I have always been
involved in arrangement and
instrumentation, but I have
never actually produced the
music myself. This is about to
change!”
While talking about the dif-
ference between the music in-
dustry of LA and India, the
songstress said, “In some
ways, it is radically different
and in others, it is not. Of
course, we are all aware of
how closely the music indus-
try in India can be tied to the
film industry. This relation-
ship does not exist (at least not
in the same way) in LA. In my
personal experience, I have
also seen a greater number of
women encouraged to get in-
volvedinproducing,songwrit-
ing, composing etc in LA than
I have in India. I think women
do want to (and are actively at-
tempting to, and even succeed-
ing in many cases) get super
involved, and I think the in-
dustry is opening up to this
but it is a process.”
12
CITY BUZZAHMEDABAD | TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
WHAT’S HAPPENING!
RAJASTHAN: Newly elected MP of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan
Neeraj Dangi was welcomed by the NSUI state secretary and
alumni Union President, Ganpat Patel in Jaipur, on Monday.
RAJASTHAN: In the
ongoing Facebook Live
series organised by
Rajasthan Progressive
Writers Association, a Pali-
based poet Hemant Parihar
recited various poems
on Monday. During the
program, Hemant shared
that his poetry journey
started from his rural
background, and through
continuous study of Hindi
literature in a completely
non-literary environment, I
made my own path myself.
RAJASTHAN: India Kids Fashion Walk-Go Virtual was organised online by Pink Concepts for young
models on Monday, where 31 selected children from all over the country showcased their modelling
talent through a video presentation. The fashion show had two sequences, in which the children
displayed glimpses of Indian traditions in traditional party wear as well as western party wear. All
participants were encouraged by offering trophies, certificates and gift hampers.
RAJASTHAN: The birthday of Social Activist and Shakti film production Founder, Ambalika Shastri
was celebrated with great enthusiasm on Monday, by distributing dry rations, food and fruits to the
needy people at Omkareshwar Mahadev temple.
JAIPUR DUO IN FORBES 2020CITY FIRST
T
he talent of
Jaipur today is
waving the glory
of skill in every
field. Two young entre-
preneurs of the city,
Gulshan Sharma
and Rahul
Shankar Bharad-
waj have also been
named in this epi-
sode. Wherein this suc-
cessful Jodi has recent-
ly been included in
‘Forbes, 30 Under 30
AsiaList2020’.Gulshan
and Rahul, the found-
ers of the well-known
brand Falhari, have
emerged as an example
for the new generation.
Entrepreneur duo
Gulshan Sharma and
RahulShankarBharad-
waj, who reached the
stage of success with
their struggle, said that
“many brands have
been promoting junk
food in the market, but
none promote fruit
consumption. Given
this, the main objective
of our brand started in
2015 was to inspire peo-
ple for a healthy diet
and fruit consumption.
Our vision by 2022 is to
set a target of reaching
the billion-dollar
growth.”
They further added
that “All the products
of our brand entirely
depend on fruits which
we will soon be intro-
ducing to the corporate
and residentials of our
home town Jaipur. Un-
der the business model
that has covered the
journey from Jaipur to
Gurugram, we provide
monthly fruits sub-
scriptionforcorporates
and residents. It is the
first brand in the world
to be inspired by the
Fruit-eating Habit, for
which we were hon-
oured by ‘Coco-Cola
Golden Spoon Awards
for Most Admired Food
and Grocery Innova-
tion of the Year’ in 2019.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
NOMINATEDINTHEUNCITY FIRST
T
heUnitedNations
has nominated
the producer of
the world-famous
Jaipur Foot’s parent
body Bhagwan Ma-
haveer Viklang Sahaya-
ta Samiti’s (BMVSS) IT
Consultant, Ruchi Me-
hta for participating in
the multi-stakeholder
hearing on Tuesday.
Thishearingwillbepre-
sided over by the UN
General Assembly Pres-
ident, Tijjani Mu-
hammed Bande. Ruchi
Mehta, who is also the
executive member of
theBMVSShasbeen
nominated as the
representative
of the BMVSS,
an NGO headquartered
at Jaipur. The BMVSS
has a Special Consulta-
tive Status with the Eco-
nomic and Social Coun-
cilof theUnitedNations
Organisation (UNO).
Thehearingisinprep-
arationforthehigh-level
meeting (HLM) of the
GeneralAssemblywhich
willbeheldinNewYork,
on 23 September, with
the theme: “Accelerating
therealizationof gender
equality and the empow-
erment of all women
and girls”. The presi-
dent, with the sup-
port of the UN En-
tity for Gender
Equality and
the Empowerment of
Women (UN-Women)
will preside over an in-
teractive session which
will include representa-
tives States Members of
theUN,specializedagen-
cies, intergovernmental
organizations, and enti-
tieswithobserversta-
tus with the UN
Assembly.
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
SURRENDER&CELEBRATEIT
KARISHMA GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in
W
Nikitaa
Gulshan and Rahul
Ruchi Mehta

First india ahmedabad edition-21 july 2020

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