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First india gujarat for gujarat today epaper 06 feb 2020 edition
- 1. AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 72 Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the stall during the inauguration of ‘Defence Expo 2020’, in Lucknow on Wednesday. —PHOTOS BY PTI Haresh Jhala Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Vijay Rupa- ni and his govern- ment have thanked Prime Minister Nar- endra Modi and Cen- tral Government for selecting Surat to set up Indian Institute of Information Technol- ogy (IIIT). He also thanked Prime Minister Modi for constituting a trust for the Ram Temple con- struction. He said that by mak- ing the announcement, Prime Minister Modi has respected the belief of crores of Hindus. Since decades Hindu’s were waiting for this day. CM Rupani ex- pressed that the new generation is infor- mation and technolo- gy savvy. In South Gujarat there is a regional engi- neering college, this will provide huge scope for youths of South and Central Gujarat to ex- plore their future in campus at Surat. Surat is the hub of Synthetic Textiles, Diamond, Zari, Chem- ical, Petrochemical, Petroleum and Gas sector. Now the IIIT coming up in Surat will inspired entre- preneurs to invest in information and tech- nology sector as they will get ready engi- neers for the sector and will not have to look to other states for candidates. He remembered that during the tenure of Narendra Modi as chief minister he de- veloped a concept of sectoral universities and so the state has universities like GFSU, PDPU, National Law University, Raksha Uni- versity, Maritime Uni- versity, these all uni- versities are world class universities at- tracting faculties from across the nation and the world. Prime Minister’s new gift to Gujarat in form of IIIT will add another feather in the cap of the state and will make a destina- tion of studies and will attract students not just from across the nation but from across the globe. CM Rupani is in Del- hi since Monday is cam- paigning for the party candidates contesting assembly elections. Where Rupani has ap- pealed to voters to vote for BJP candidates so that Gujarat model of development can be im- plemented in Delhi too. CM Rupani thanks PM Modi for Ram Temple trust, IIIT at Surat CM Vijay Rupani campaigning for the BJP candidate in Rajouri Garden area in Delhi on Wednesday. UP, TAMIL NADU TO BECOME GRAND DEFENCE MANUFACTURING CORRIDORS: PM MODILucknow: Prime Minis- ter Narendra Modi on Wednesdaysaidtwogrand defence manufacturing corridors were being built in UP and Tamil Nadu to help the defence sector as well as other smaller busi- nesses in the regions. “Two grand defence corridors are being built today here in India. One is in TN, while the sec- ond is being built in UP. This will not only help the defence sector but other smaller businesses in the regions as well,” said PM here at the De- fence Expo 2020. Stress- ingonIndia’sfutureplanto strengthen defence sector, he said at least 25 products associat- ed with artificial intelligence in the de- fence sector will be devel- oped in the next 5 years. He said aspirations and abilities of 21st century India are being well-por- trayed at this Expo. PM said India is targetting to export defence of Rs 35,00 crore in next five years. “In 2014, the export of defence of India was about Rs 2000 crore. In the last 2 years, India has exported defence worth Rs 17,000 crore. In the next 5 years, we’re tar- geting to take the num- ber to Rs 35,000 crore,” he said. “Till 2014, only 217 defence licenses were issued. In the last 5 years, this number has grown to 460,” PM added. He asserted that India is building several de- fence types of equip- ment like artillery guns, aircraft carriers, subma- rines, light-combat air- craft, and combat heli- copters. “People who understand economy and defence know that India is not just a mar- ket, but a huge opportu- nity as well,” he said. Underliningthatseveral changeshavebeenmadein the offset sector and guide- lineshavebeenmademore flexible, Modi said: “These changes would help the In- dianindustrytakeabigger role in the world supply chain. World’s top defence manufacturers will now get more competitive Indi- an partners.” PM also said that the “wrong use of technology, terrorism and cyber threats” are big hurdles for entire world. The main theme of this year’s event is ‘In- dia: The Emerging De- fence Manufacturing Hub’ and the focus will be on ‘Digital Transfor- mation of Defence’. As many as 1028 compa- nies have registered for participating in this year’s event, as against 702 in the DefExpo2018.Thenumber of participating foreign companies have also in- creasedto172fromthepre- vious figure of 160. —ANI PM Narendra Modi interacts with the exhibitor during the inauguration of ‘Defence Expo 2020’ in Lucknow on Wednesday.
- 2. TALKING POINTAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 02www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia t maybe 2020 but Bob Marley is still a well known face and name, whether it be his music or his infamous ro- mance with the recrea- tional side of the indus- try, its a name you can’t not recognize. Who Bob Marley was, is best summarized by Jimmy Cliff “The first thing I noticed was he had a thing with words. He put emphasis on words more than melody. He was more like a poet. I really liked three of the songs, and for me, those three songs summed up who he really was. “Judge Not” was a song about your individuality as a person. Who are you to point the finger at me without knowing who I am? I have a right to who I am. He always went through life like that. The other song was “Ter- ror,” about people terrorizing people, which was something he was against. And the other song was “One Cup of Coffee,” a love song. That summarized his revo- lutionary side, his individualis- tic side, and his love side. The combination of all those songs made him who he was.” Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Ja- maica, to Norval Marley and Cedel- la Booker. His father was a Jamai- can of English descent. His mother was a black teenager. He started his career with the Wailers, a group he formed with Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston in 1963 and married Rita Marley in February 1966. It was she who introduced him to Rastafarian- ism. By 1969 Bob, Tosh and Liv- ingston had fully embraced Ras- tafarianism, which greatly influ- ence Marley's music. The Wail- ers collaborated with Lee Scratch Perry, resulting in some of the Wailers' finest tracks like "Soul Rebel", "Duppy Conquerer", "400 Years" and "Small Axe." This brought the Wailers' music to the attention of Chris Black- well, the owner of Island Records who immediately signed the Wail- ers and produced their first al- bum, "Catch a Fire". LEAVING AN IMPRINT ON THE WESTERN WORLD In 1976, in England "Exodus" was produced, and it remained on the British charts for 56 straight weeks. This was followed by another suc- cessful album, "Kaya." These suc- cesses introduced reggae music to the western world for the first time, and established the beginning of Marley's international status. MARLEY, MARIJUANA, AND RELIGION Bob Marley did not use cannabis recreationally and did not see its use as a casual matter. He viewed marijuana as a holy rite, much as Catholics view Holy Communion or some Native Americans view the ceremonial usage of peyote. View- ing himself as a holy person (as do all Rastafarians), Marley strongly believed that marijuana opened up a spiritual door that allowed him to become the artist and poet he was. INJURY WHICH RESULTED IN UNTIMELY DEATH In1977Marleyconsultedwithadoctor whenawoundinhisbigtoewouldnot heal. More tests revealed malignant melanoma. He refused to have his toe amputated as his doctors rec- ommended, claiming it contradict- ed his Rastafarian beliefs. Others, however, claim that the main rea- son behind his refusal was the pos- sible negative impact on his danc- ing skills. The cancer was kept secret from the general public while Bob continued working. Returning to Jamaica in 1978, he continued work and released "Sur- vival" in 1979 which was followed by a successful European tour. 1980’s was a time of great success for Mar- ley, and he started an American tour to reach blacks in the US. He played two shows at Madison Square Gar- den, but collapsed while jogging in NYC's Central Park on September 21, 1980. The cancer diagnosed earlier had spread to his brain, lungs and stomach. Bob Marley died in a Miami hospital on May 11, 1981. He was 36 years old. I BOB HAPPY WORLD SETS STAGE TO THANK THE REGGAE LEGEND FOR SOME OF THE MOST MEMORABLE SONGS OF ALL TIME Don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing gonna be all right One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain None but ourselves can free our minds THE GOOD OL’ TIMES Former US President Barack Obama got a tour of the Bob Marley Museum from staff member Natasha Clark in Kingston, Jamaica on April 8, 2015. TRIVIA Marley was awarded the International Peace Medal by the African delegation to the United Nations in 1978. He was also an official guest at Zimbabwe’s independence celebration two years later, the only foreign artist to get the invitation, an honor Marley was quoted as saying was the highest he’d ever received. His posthumously released anthology collection “Legend” is one of the highest selling “greatest hits” recordings by a solo artist. His albums are in the process of digital remastering and are being re-released with additional material such as alternate versions and unused demos. TOP SONGS Three little birds Could you be loved Is this love Buffalo soldier Jamming Redemption song No woman, no cry One love Stir it up SOURCE: IMDB, ROLLING STONE, SPOTIFY BOB HAPPY
- 3. TRACK READY FOR TEMPLE RUN New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced in Lok Sab- ha the formation of a trust to construct a Ram Temple in Ayod- hya as directed by the Supreme Court in its landmark verdict in the Ram Janmabhoo- mi-Babri Masjid case in November last year. Making a statement in the lower house soon after the meeting of the Union Cabinet, Modi said, “We have readied a scheme for the devel- opment of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. A trust has been formed, it is called ‘Shri Ram Janambhoo- mi Teertha Kshetra.” Since Parliament is in session, the gov- ernment decided to inform the House on the important deci- sion taken by the Cab- inet. The prime minister said that after the ver- dict on the Ram Janma- bhoomi issue came out, the people of India displayed re- markable faith in demo- cratic processes and procedures. Turn on P5 One of trustees to be Dalit,says Shah UP govt allots five acres of land to Waqf Board 25-km from temple site New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday announced that the Shri Ram Janmab- hoomi Teertha Kshetra, set up by the government for construction of a temple in Ayodhya, will have 15 trustees andoneof them will be from the Dalit commu- nity. The home minis- ter’s statement comes a little over an hour after Prime Minister Narendra Modi an- nounced in Lok Sab- ha about the constitu- tion of the trust. “There will be 15 trustees in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi TeerthaKshetraTrust out of which one trus- teewillalwaysbefrom the Dalit society,” he tweeted. Turn on P5 Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday allot- ted five acres of land in Ayodhya district to the Sunni Central Waqf Board as direct- ed by the Supreme Court. The land is in Dhannipur village in tehsil Sohawal in Ayodhya on the Lucknow high- way, about 18 kilometres from the district headquarters and 25-km from the tem- ple site, state govern- ment spokesperson Shrikant Sharma told reporters. The decision was tak- en at a cabinet meeting chaired by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday morn- ing. Turn on P5 Sporting a saffron muffler, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing formation of the temple trust in the Lok Sabha in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI Week to exercise all legal remedies: HC to Nirbhaya convicts New Delhi: The con- victs in the Nirbhaya case will get one week to exercise all their legal remedies, after which the trial court will begin pro- ceedings for their execution, the Delhi High Court said to- day, settling the Cen- tre’s petition against the indefinite freeze on execution placed by the lower court. The judges, however, refused to hang the convicts separately, which was also part of the Centre’s re- quest. “Delhi Prison Rules do not say that if mer- cy petition of one con- vict is pending, the execution of the other convicts can take place,” said Justice Suresh Kait, who was hearing the case. “Since upto the Su- preme Court, their fate has been decided by a common judg- ment, I am of the opin- ion that death warrant of all convicts should be executed together and not separately,” the court added. “I’m glad that the High Court has set a time limit for the pro- cess. The convicts have been delaying it, now it has to done within a week,” Nirbhaya’s mother told reporters. Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta, Muke- sh Singh and Akshay Singh - convicted for the shocking gang- rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramed- ical student dubbed Nirbhaya by the me- dia in Delhi in 2012 - were to be executed on February 1. Turn on P5 PM announces trust for construction of Grand Ram Mandir in Ayodhya THE 15 TRUSTEES K Parasharan: Senior advocate of the Supreme Court. Represented the Hindu side in the Ayodhya case for 9 years. Jagatguru Shankaracha- rya Swami Vasudevanand Saraswatiji Maharaj (Praya- graj): Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth at Badrinath. Jagatguru Mad- hwacharya Swami Vishwa Prasannathirtha Ji Maharaj: 33rd Peethadheeshwar of Pejawar Math lin Udupi. Yugpurush Parmanand Ji Maharaj: Head of Akhand Ashram Haridwar. Swami Govind Dev Giri Ji Maharaj: Conducts discourse of Ramayana, Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata and other mythological texts. Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra: Descendant of Ayodhya royal family. Social servant and member of the Ramayana Mela Sanrakshak Samiti. Dr Anil Mishra, Homoe- opathic Doctor: Originally a resident of Ambedkarnagar, Anil is a famous homeopa- thy doctor of Ayodhya. Shri Kameshwar Chau- pal, Patna (SC Member): The Sangh has given Kameshwar the status of Karsevak at first. Laid the first brick of the foundation stone in the Ram temple in 1989. A trustee nominated by the Board of Trustees, who is a Hindu. A trustee nominated by the Board of Trustees, who is a Hindu. Mahant Dinendra Das: Head of Ayodhya meeting of Nirmohi Akhara of Ayod- hya. Will not have the right to vote in trust meetings. A representative nominated by the central government, who will be a Hindu and an IAS officer under the central govern- ment. This person shall not be below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Govern- ment of India. Will be an ex-officio member. A representative nomi- nated by the state govern- ment, who will be a Hindu and an IAS officer. The Collector of Ayodhya District will be an ex-officio Trustee. Should be follower of Hinduism. If the collector is not a Hindu, then the Additional Collec- tor (Hindu) of Ayodhya will be an ex-officio member. The Board of Trustees shall appoint the Chairman of the matters relating to the Ram Temple develop- ment and administration. Must be a Hindu. CENTRE MOVES SUPREME COURT AGAINST HIGH COURT ORDER The Centre and the Delhi government Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s order rejecting the government’s plea against staying the execution of the four December 16 gangrape-murder case convicts. CONVICTS WILL BE HANGED SOON: LAW MINISTER PRASAD TELLS LS Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad assured Lok Sabha that the convicts will be hanged soon. “We are very strict…justice will be given to her. Convicts will be hanged soon,” Prasad said in Parliament on Wednesday. ‘EC NOD NOT NEEDED FOR ANNOUNCEMENT’ Election Commission on Wednesday said its ap- proval was “not required” for the government to announce the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra trust. Responding to questions on whether the government required a clearance from the poll panel to announce the trust as the model code was in place in Delhi, a EC spokesperson said the nod was “not required”. Personal property of directors of I-T defaulting firms may be auctioned Masuma Bharmal Jariwala Rajkot: Sending strong signals to directors of defaulting private lim- ited companies, for the first time in the history of Income Tax Depart- ment, the Rajkot I-T de- partment has made use of Section 179 of the Income Tax Act and seized auctioned per- sonal property of three directors of a private limited company on Wednesday after the company failed to pay around Rs 55 lakh. The Section imposes liabilities on every di- rector of a private com- pany for recovery of tax dues, should the same is not recoverable from the company. The entire operation was carried out by the tax recovery officer Taher Shk Saifuddin Tinwala under the su- pervision of Chief I-T Commissioner Ravindr- akumarPatelandPrinci- palCommissionerNiraj- kumar. Tinwala claims, “This is for the first time in entire India that this section was used for auc- tion and recovery.” Speaking to First In- dia about the entire op- eration, Tinwala said,” A demand of Rs 55 lakh was outstanding from Rudra Technocast Pri- vate Limited based in Shaper since 2013-14. We made continuous ef- forts for three years for the recovery but failed. By making use of Sec- tion 179, the directors of the company can be made liable for the pay- ment of the demand from the company. Till now no actions were taken for auctions us- ing this section. The section says that if the company becomes bankrupt or goes into liquidation, it is the per- sonal liability of the directors to pay on be- half of the company.” By the virtue of this section, Tinwala exer- cised powers and at- tached the personal as- sets of directors Naresh Patel, Bhavesh Patel and Manish Patel, which included a Hero Honda motorcycle and one Activa scooter, be- sides gold and silver ornaments. The items were auctioned on Wednesday giving re- covery of Rs 1.05 lakh. “This was the first phase of initiation of harsh action were mov- able properties were at- tached. We have further given 30 days time pe- riod to pay the demand. Turn on P5 Court also refuses Centre’s request to hang the convicts separately AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 72 JAIPUR ENTERS UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES Ashok Gehlot @ashokgehlot51 Delighted and proud that #Jaipur has got @UNESCO Heritage Certificate. I dedicate the honour to people of the Pink City and state. Jaipur is one of the most well planned and beautiful cities of the world. Let us preserve the heritage of the capital city. JAIPUR PIPED 36 NOMINATIONS DURING 43RD SESSION OF THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE, WHICH WAS HELD IN AZERBAIJAN LAST YEAR. MPs greet PM with Jai Shri Ram slogans The moment PM Modi entered the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, BJP MPs greeted him with “Jai Shri Ram” chants making it evident that it is the announcement of Ram Mandir Trust formation. The MPs were waiting in anticipation as the chief whip of the party in Lok Sabha late last night asked them to be present in the house. PREZ REJECTS CLEMENCY PETITION President Ram Nath Kovind has rejected the mercy petition of Akshay Kumar Singh, one of the four men facing the gallows in the 2012 Nirb- haya gangrape and murder case, Home Ministry officials said on Wednesday. Singh filed the mercy petition before the president a few days ago. Rajkot Income Tax Department for the first time invoked Section 179 to recover tax dues Income Tax officials during the auction.
- 4. GUJARATAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 04www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia BUGGED? Or is it the grapevine... . First India begins a column that brings to you gossips or tete-e-tete from the corridors of power GUP SHUP WHEN BUDGET IS NOT A PROBLEM! With US President Trump’s impending visit to Gujarat, the Sabarmati ward of local civic body AMC has suddenly become the centre of attention. Generally, the maximum budget allocated for infrastructure work to any given ward of the AMC is Rs5 crore. But, gossip suggests that roads in the Sabarmati ward are being given an extreme makeover at the cost of Rs22 crore! This number is four times more than the budget allocated to any other ward. A few senior officials even believe that the civic body may spend upto Rs45 crore on Trump’s visit. There is a saying in Gujarati, which may go well with this development, “Kona baap ni Diwali che?” TO CALL OR NOT TO CALL? When you call the district education office, and you hear a sweet voice asking you, “How can I help you?”, will it not throw you a bit? When you explain that you wish to speak to an education officer or counsellor, the person on the other side will calmly explain the situation to you. The reason for all the confusion is that any number which starts with 181 or ends with 181, it will automatically be diverted to the women’s helpline. What’s more interesting is that all mobile numbers of the education department’s website start with 18181 and 11011. So, when you call, beware that it is a coin toss on where you will connected! DHANDHA HAI, PAR GANDA HAI Coronavirus has spread globally. In the city, an isolation ward has been prepared at the Civil Hospital for Corona patients too. A number of people have been constantly in touch with hospital officials, inquiring about the number of patients who have contracted the virus and the number of suspected cases. The staff at the hospital learned that a few traders had been making rounds at the hospital to sell masks for patients and their families. With seemingly no concern for patients, the traders look more interested in raking up business and selling masks. The reason why inquires about the number of patients are being made is to be at the ready to pounce on hapless victims. MAKING MOOLAH, ONE THREAT AT A TIME Loan sharks threatening people for payment of interest and loan amount is common, but, what does one say when a prisoner calls from jail and threatens the borrower to repay the amount? In a bizarre incident, a prisoner named Riyaz Ismail Dal aka Rushi Rasik Thaker of the Rajkot Central Jail in Popatpara area of the city called a borrower and threatened him with dire consequences, if he did not pay the amount owed. The borrower claims to have paid the entire amount with interest. But that did not deter Riyaz aka Rushi from threatening him to pay more interest. This may just be a case of vasooli taken very seriously, eh? AMC keeps information on ‘corrupt’ officials under wraps RTI query was about specifics like the exact fine charged according to designations Surat Infant dies after consuming ‘medicine’ Gujarat High Court allows ‘research donation’ First India News Surat: A 4-month-old girl died after consum- ing medicine meant to treat dengue and ma- laria in Limbayat area of the city on Monday night. Kishori, who had been sick, was brought to the New Civil Hospi- tal by her parents for treatment. According to the girl’s mother Esme, she and her husband Muke- sh Patil, a salesman by profession, brought their baby girl to the hospital to get medical assistance. A person claiming to be a ‘gov- ernment doctor’ met with them and pre- scribed the anti-den- gue-malaria drug for the child’s malady. He allegedly gave the drug to the parents for a sum of Rs120. The child was then administered the drug by her parents at home; following this, she start- ed crying profusely. This prompted her mother to breastfeed her. When the child did not wake in the morn- ing, the worried couple rushed to the hospital where the on-duty doctor declared the in- fant dead. The person responsi- ble for the prescription of the drug has been identified as a govern- ment employee. How- ever, doctors have as- sured the parents of the child that money charged for the medicine was not for any government vac- cination programme, as claimed by the ‘doctor’. Parents of the child have lodged a com- plaint with local police and the body of the de- ceased infant has been sent for post-mortem. First India News Ahmedabad: The Guja- rat High Court has per- mitted expenses in- curred by a Thakkar Govindbhai Ganpatlal, on a donation made through banking chan- nel used for scientific purposes.Thecaseof the assessee was selected for scrutinyassessmentand notice under section 143(2) was issued and served to Thakkar. After scrutiny of accounts, it was revealed that Th- akkar had claimed de- duction under section 35(1)(ii) by claiming that the expenses incurred weretowardsadonation. On appeal, the Com- missioner of Income Tax (Appeals) had de- leted the disallowance. A division bench com- prising of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Bhargav D Karia while upholding the judgment of the lower appellate authorities remarked that “ the facts of the present case remain that the amount of do- nation was transferred to Herbicure (Thakkar’s company) through a bank channel and there is no evidence that the same was returned back in cash. The Herbicure Foundation has con- firmed that the amount has been utilized for sci- entific research.” Gargi Raval Ahmedabad: In De- cember 2019, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) served charge-sheets to 23 of its own engineers in irregularities in road resurfacing work in 2017. The civic body also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on the additional engineers and also slapped fine of Rs 1 lakh on a retired engineer. However, when a Right to Information (RTI) query was filed to know the detailed amount of fines slapped on the engineers along with their names the civic department’s wel- fare-cum-labour officer had refused this infor- mation claiming that “personal details” can- not be asked “As a mat- ter of right”. The RTI query was about specifics regard- ing the exact fine charged according to designations. At pre- sent, a retired judge is conducting a detailed inquiry in it. However, Deputy Mu- nicipal Commissioner Arjav Shah told First India that “Information pertaining to property is personal informa- tion, but fine slapped on any officer by the de- partment is not person- al.” Another senior of- ficer said information regarding penalty amount and irregulari- ties were already re- vealed in media the day the fines were slapped, “So how come this is a piece of personal infor- mation.” Johar Vora, Congress Secretary in the AMC, said the offic- ers were fined because they showed negligence in their duties. “The of- ficers failed to do their duty. They were found guilty by the vigilance department and there is nothing personal about the fine.” “The BJP-run AMC had delayed inquiry in the corruption matter. Because of the corrup- tion of BJP’s favourite officers, the citizens had to pay. How come the fine amount on the officers a personal mat- ter? They were charged with irregularities, not conducting required su- pervision, not main- taining records.” said Dinesh Sharma, leader of the opposition at AMC. “Due to this, hundred crores loss was born by the AMC and now even under RTI it has not re- vealed information. It seems either the penal- ty has not been levied or someone is saving them,” added Sharma. SHEER NEGLIGENCE Guj has 49,973 AYUSH practitioners: MoS Shripad Naik First India News Ahmedabad: Out of 8 lakh AYUSH practition- ers (doctors) registered with the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Na- turopathy, Unani, Sid- dha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) across India, 49,973 practitioners are from Gujarat. MoS Shri- pad Yesso Naik, Minis- try of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopa- thy, supplied this infor- mation when ques- tioned by MP Parimal Nathwani in the Rajya Sabha. Naik also point- ed out that with regard tothenumberof AYUSH hospitals, Gujarat ac- counted for 64 out of a total of 4,035 spread acrossIndia.Thestateis ranked at number eight in terms of AYUSH hos- pitals, while UP with 2,316accountedformore than half of the total number of AYUSH hos- pitals in India. Further- more, out of 49,973 AYUSH practitioners in the state, the largest number stands at 26,716 for Ayurveda, another 22,930 are Homeopathy practitioners and Unani accounted for 327. Of the 64 AYUSH hospitals located in Gujarat, 42 are for Ayurveda, 16 for Homeopathy and 6 for Naturopathy. As per the National Health Policy, AYUSH is to provide comprehensive set of preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilita- tive services. Eunuch attacked, robbed by rivals First India News Ahmedabad: In a turf war between two gangs of eunuchs, a 27-year- old from Vastral filed a complaint at Ellis- bridge police station against six persons. In the complaint, the vic- tim Sejal Pavaiya stated that she was allegedly robbed and attacked by six people namely Im- ran, Faizan Liyakat Kazi, Zahir, Chhota Za- hir, Akram and Raju. In the past, territory disputes between differ- ent groups of eunuchs have been common in the city. As per the com- plainant, the group of six eunuchs allegedly attacked another eu- nuch group with swords, injured them as well as robbed them of their jewellery and mo- bile phones. The 27-year-old com- plainant lives with her sister in Ambawadi. The victim was collect- ing alms on Tuesday morning with her sister Kamini Pavaiya and brother Sunil when, a group of people came out from an auto-rick- shaw and injured her leg, hand and chin. The complainant also claimed that they abused and threatened them, apart from steal- ing around Rs15,000 in cash and a gold chain. The victim’s sister said, “It is a territory issue. They (the eunuch group) have attacked us in the past too. We had even filed a complaint back then, to no avail.” The victim was ad- mitted to a city hospital for treatment. First India News Surat: A family of three was injured in an LPG blast in Vesu area of the city on Wednes- day. As per the fire bri- gade, the incident took place at a house in an affordable housing fa- cility. One of the vic- tims, Pravin Shah, 42, took to flame when a family member tried to ignite the stove. Shah then sought help from his neighbour Vinod Goswami, 32, who tried to get the fire under control. The situation got out of hand and caused burn injuries to Shah and his wife Jy- otsna and Goswami. The injured were rushed to the New Civ- il Hospital for treat- ment. Goswami, who saved the life of Shah’s three kids remains critical and under ob- servation. 3 injured in LPG blast in Vesu Woman molested in Nava Vadaj First India News Ahmedabad: A 19-year-old woman filed a complaint with Vadaj police station, accusing her brother-in-law of molesting her and as- saulting her husband. According to the com- plaint, the woman was at her home on Tues- day evening when her brother-in-law Harshad Parmar requested her to be home because he was planning to visit her with his sister. Police sources say Parmar made his sister leave the house to pur- chase water. When Par- mar was alone with the woman, he allegedly groped her and tore her dress. The woman tried to escape from his grip and started screaming. As neigh- bours gathered to see what had happened, the woman, the accused escaped. The woman in- formed her husband and mother-in-law about the incident. As per the complaint, the woman’s husband went to meet the accused and his uncle to talk about the matter, in person. BIG NUMBERS NO LOVE LOST The baby who died and her parents. An example of the city’s bad roads. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI PANIC ATTACK A person claiming to be a ‘doctor’ prescribed meds
- 5. GUJARATAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 05www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia PM announces... “I salute the 130 crore peo- ple of India,” he said. “Let us all support con- struction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya,” he said, amid “Jai Shri Ram” slogans from treasury benches. The Supreme Court had directed the government to form the trust within three months and the deadline was ending on February 9. Modi said in India, be it Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis or Jains, everyone is a part of one “broad family”. “Development must take place for every mem- ber of the family. Our gov- ernment is moving for- ward with the mantra of ‘sabka sath sabka vikas’ so that everyone is happy,” he said. Seeking to emphasise the importance of the an- nouncement, Modi repeat- ed twice “Aayee Aayee” (Come come) before urg- ing all members to sup- port in one voice the con- struction of the Ram Tem- ple. Modi said after the ver- dict on the Ram Janmab- hoomi issue came out, people displayed remark- able faith in democratic processes and procedures. I salute the 130 crore peo- ple of India. It has also been decided to transfer 67.703 acre land to the trust, he said, adding the Uttar Pradesh government has agreed to give five acres of land to the UP Sunni Wakf Board as directed by the Su- preme Court in the Ayod- hya matter. UP govt... “The state government had sent three alterna- tives for land to the Cen- tre. This one was accepted by the Centre and state cabinet has approved its allotment. There is good transportation facility to reach here and communal amity and law and order are also good,” Sharma added. Prime Minister Naren- dra Modi announced in Lok Sabha the formation of a trust to construct a Ram Temple in Ayodhya as directed by the Su- preme Court in its land- mark verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Mas- jid case on November 9 last year. Making a statement in the lower house soon after the meeting of the Union Cabinet, Modi said, “We have readied a scheme for the development of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. A trust has been formed, it is called ‘Shri Ram Janam- bhoomi Teertha Kshetra.” The Supreme Court had directed the government to form the trust within three months and give five acres of land to the Sunni Central Waqf Board. The deadline was ending on February 9. One of... Shah congratulated Modi “for such an unprecedent- ed decision” that strength- ens social harmony. The home minister said the trust will be indepen- dent to take every deci- sion related to the temple and 67 acres of land will be transferred to it. “I fully believe that the waiting of millions of people for centuries will be over soon and they will be able to pay obeisance to Lord Shri Ram in his grand temple at his birth- place,” he said. Personal property... In the second stage, im- moveable properties of the directors, including houses and land will be done,” said Tinwala, who conducted all the three auctions in a single day. According to available information, there are around 250 private limited defaulting companies in Saurashtra and Kutch. “ This is a strong message to the directors of the de- faulting private limited companies”, Nirajkumar said. Week to... But the trial court post- poned the execution in- definitely after a second convict, Vinay Sharma, filed a mercy petition before President Ram Nath Kovind. As his ap- peal was turned down, another convict, Ak- shay Singh, filed his mercy plea. The Centre contended that the convicts were working in tandem, using every possible loophole to delay the execution. “The accused are trying the patience of the nation. Such delays will shake the faith of people in the ad- ministration of justice,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, asking that the execution of the two convicts who exhausted all the legal options be carried out. The four convicts, along with two others -- one of them a minor -- had at- tacked the gang-raped the young woman and tor- tured her with an iron rod in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012. FROM PG 1 Guj Textbook Board all set for new academic timetable Case likely against Sau univ prof Cong MLAs build pressure on govt on farmers’ issues Woman files dowry case against husband, in-laws Schools asked to get certified under RTE New medical body AHNA formed First India News Gandhinagar: The Gujarat State Board of School Text- books which controls the sup- ply of textbooks for school- kids studying under the state board claims to be ready for the new academic year. This comes on the heels of the state government’s announcement to follow Central Board of Secondary Education’s aca- demic timetable from the next academic year. In wake of this develop- ment, “the state board affili- ated schools academic year for 2020-21 will begin this April 20 and summer vacation will begin from 1st May and school will reopen in June,” said Vinod Rao, Secretary for Primary and Secondary Edu- cation. One of the biggest challenges that the board faces is to ensure that text- books are printed ahead of the reopening of schools post vacation. Previously, the aca- demic year cycle followed by the state board commenced in April and ended in June. Rao added that the changes to schedule have been made to meet the minimum education days criteria. With new aca- demic time table in effect, the number of education days for the year 2020-21 will increase by 12 days. While, the number of education days will get an increment of 24 days in the academic year 2021-22. According to HS Limbach- ya, Deputy Director (produc- tion), GSSTB, the board had been fully prepared for the changeintheacademicsched- ule long before the announce- ment was made. Masuma Bharmal Jariwala Rajkot: Considered about a blot on the reputation of Sau- rashtra University, the syndicate on Thurs- day unanimously de- cided to inform the police about the viral audio clip in which professor and head of the sociology depart- ment Haresh Zala is allegedly heard de- manding sexual fa- vours from a female student who wanted to pursue a PhD degree at the department. Vice Chancellor of the university Nitin- kumar Pethani told First India, “Consider- ing the prestige of the university is at stake, the university syndi- cate has unanimously decided to send the clip to the Directorate of Forensic Sciences (DFS). The professor will stay suspended until the DFS reports are received. We are also inclined to take the matter to the police and seek in- vestigation by the cy- bercell and hand over the investigation to a committee consisting of a retired judged.” Zala was immedi- ately suspended and his chamber sealed af- ter the audio clip went viral on social media. The matter was also given to anti women sexual harass- ment cell for investi- gation but it gave clean chit to Zala as no official complaint was lodged. First India News Ahmedabad: Two Congress MLAs have written multiple letters to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani highlighting the plight of farmers. Patan MLA Kirit Pa- tel asked CM to release water for irrigation. “Farmers in my con- stituency need water for the Rabi crop. Bore- wells are not viable as they only get electrici- ty for eight hours a day. I have requested the government to provide water until the season ends,” he told. Meanwhile, Dhoraji- Upleta MLA Lalit Vasoya has requested that the government extend its deadline for procuring groundnut at minimum support price. “The deadline is tomorrow but more than 2,000 farmers from my constituency have not yet received any update after apply- ing online,” Vasoya said. First India News Ahmedabad: A 30-year-old woman ap- proached Navrangpura police and filed a com- plaint against her hus- band and her in-laws, over a dowry demand and charges of domes- tic violence. The complainant, a psychology student at an institute in the city, says the accused have been allegedly harass- ing her for Rs15 lakh for dowry ever since they got married in March 2018. The wom- an filed a case against her husband Kazim Shaikh, father in-law Mohamad Nazir Shai- kh and mother in-law Raziyabanu Shaikh. The woman also has an 11-month-old daughter. The woman said that they would also keep asking her father to buy a two-wheeler vehi- cle and laptop for her in-laws. She also claimed that her hus- band insisted that he wanted these items to start a business in the city. In her complaint, the woman further stated that her husband would beat her up and verbal- ly abuse her too. He used to call her ‘short and mentally unstable’. The woman also claimed that her in- laws even kicked her out of their house three months ago. Navrang- pura police filed the complaint and have started investigating the case. First India News Rajkot: The Right to Education Act (RTE) gives all children the same right to a decent education. To ensure thatchildren,eventhose from below the poverty line, get a certain level of all-round education, all schools in the state have to be certified by thegovernment’seduca- tion department. This certification is imperative to check that the schools have ade- quate infrastructure, playgrounds, and fire- safety equipment as per the new rules and norms of the RTE amendment. Rajkot District Edu- cation Officer (DEO) K D Bagada told First In- dia that he has issued notices to 523 private schools asking them to file these applications in time.“If theschoolman- agement does not follow procedure, the depart- ment can take action against them,” he said, adding, “Each school has to maintain state government standards in the interest of stu- dents. For instance, there should be a healthy and supportive environment to aid stu- dents’ growth and devel- opment. Ahmedabad: In a bid to collectively raise their voice against is- sues and problems faced by them, medi- um, as well as large hospitals and nursing homes in the city, have come together to form the Ahmedabad Hospi- tals & Nursing Homes Association (AHNA). One of the most im- portant objectives of the newly formed body includes revising rates offered by insurance companies to member hospitals. According to the association, the rates are too low, which make it unfeasi- ble for hospitals to of- fer quality assistance to patients. The asso- ciation will also seek to get the govern- ment’s approval for the opportunity for is- suance of new licenses as well as renewal of licenses. In order to deal with shortage of skilled paramedical staff, the body also plans to arrange train- ing programmes. Masuma Bharmal Jariwala Rajkot: In a major crackdown on tax de- faulters, the Rajkot Mu- nicipal Corporation on Wednesday sealed around 170 properties and recovered tax amounting to a whop- ping Rs 1.78 crore in a single day. Among the big play- ers whose properties were sealed included renowned retail chain Big Bazaar and Panta- loons, Dynamatics Forging India Limited and Navdurga Commu- nity Hall. Speaking to First In- dia, Assistant Commis- sioner (Tax) Haresh Kagathara confirmed, “We have sealed the premises of Big Bazaar and Pantaloons, along with a total of 170 units who have defaulted in making timely pay- ments despite remind- ers and notice period. “ Kagatharaalsorevealed that, “Very soon, we are going to auction 24 properties. This should set an example for time- ly payment of taxes.” The RMC has kept a target to recover Rs. 248 crore by March, which is Rs 3 crore more in comparison to the last year target. So far, the RMC under the current target has already re- covered a total of RS. 160.25 crore. Currently, the civic body is target- ing defaulters above Rs 1 lakh. The tax amount pay- able by Big Bazaar stood at Rs 97,70,530 and Pantaloons at Rs 39,36,370. “This year we are taking the toughest measures and actions,” Kagathara added. Meanwhile, latest re- ports coming in stated that seals of Big Bazaar and Pantaloons were later opened after they made necessary pay- ments to the civic body. Rajkot is divided into three zones, comprising a total 18 wards. Among the industrial units sealed in ward number 15 are Agon Pumps, Kranti Engineering, three units of Dynamic Forging Ind Limited, Meera Foundry and three units in Sajanand industrial area. RMC SEALS 170 UNITS, GETS `1.78 CR IN A DAYPremises of Big Bazaar and Pantaloons, among the units sealed for tax default BIG TARGETS ACADEMIC YEAR TIME-TABLE Class Education days (Min) 1 to 5 200 6 to 8 220 9 t0 12 240 Officials at a groundnut godown. —PHOTO BY HANIF SIDHI The RMC sealed various commercial establishments and made a recovery of Rs 1.78 crore in a single day. —PHOTO BY HANIF SIDHI
- 6. G Vol 1 G Issue No. 72 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, Resident Editor : Darshan Desai, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 06www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia $5 TN ECONOMY DREAM HANGING ON DEFEXPO rime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of turning India into a $5 trillion economy got a major push with the inauguration of the 11th Defence Expo in Lucknow on Wednesday. With defence ministers from 30 countries and 1026 manufacturers of defence equipment from the country and abroad pre- sent at the show, it is being touted as Asia’s biggest. For the host state Uttar Pradesh, a laggard otherwise, nothing could be bigger than this. The DefExpo, which is being held for the first time in UP to showcase it as a big ticket investment destination, has the objective of doubling India’s defence exports from Rs 17,000 crore at present to Rs 35,000 crore in the next five years. To achieve the goal the Prime Minister visualizes India and UP as the hub of defence manufacturing. Underlining a positive trend in this direc- tion, the Prime Minister pointed out in his inaugural speech that the number of defence licences issued in the last five years has gone up from 410 to 460 and that the country now has the capability to produce aircraft carri- ers, submarines, artillery guns, besides other military hardware. The success of DefExpo is as vital for the $5 trillion economy dream as it is for the growth of Uttar Pradesh, which is a drag on India’s economy. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is expect- ed to sign 23 memorandum of understanding (MoUs) for investments worth Rs 50,000 crore. Together these investments would provide job opportunities to an estimated 300,000 peo- ple and boost progress. The state’s most backward region, Bun- delkhand, is being developed as Defence Cor- ridor and the government is going all out to lure foreign and Indian investors. The Corri- dor, which was awarded to UP in 2018, spans Lucknow,Kanpur,Jhansi,Chitrakoot,Aligarh and Agra. Subsequently, the state formulated its defence and aerospace policy and created a land bank of 25,000 acres for the investors. With improved connectivity and mega ex- pressways in the pipeline the Yogi Adityanath governmentisoptimisticaboutputtingthestate ontheglobalmapasaninvestmentdestination. In this endeavour he has the backing of the Prime Minister who spoke of making UP the biggest defence manufacturing hub in India. Kenneth Juster, the US ambassador to In- dia, who was also in the state capital to par- ticipate in the DefExpo had a word of caution on the slowing down of economy, which af- fects the country’s “ability to modernize de- fence capabilities”. The US is a major defence partner of India with sales between the two countries touching US $18 billion. The success of DefExpo will depend on how many of the MoUs signed eventually concretes. Investment events alone do not guarantee progress. Yogi Adityanath has to ensure there is complete harmony and peace in the state. Also, Bundelkhand will have to transformed into world class region. IN-DEPTH P n 28 January, SC after a de- cade long debate over a cont- roversial plan allowed to import the African Cheetah from Namibia. Although the plan was allocated Rs 50 cro- re and approved in august 2012 but the court disallo- wed import in 2013. Kuno and Nauradehi Sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh in Jaisalmer were selected by the Wildlife Ins- titute of India as most sui- table sites for the introduc- tion project. Kuno identified as a poten- tial cheatah site in 2013 is now unlikely to get any Cheetah as much of its grassland that were created by relocating villages have naturally progressed to Woodlands and has barely any presence of chinkara or black- buck who are potential prey of Cheetahs. Rajasthan too not so keen for Shahgar in Jaisalmer since the near extinct Great In- dian Bustard is a potential pray for the Cheetah and hence put- ting them together cannot be contemplated at all. This approval if carried out in isolation will further aggravate existing fragile Human- Animal Conflict (HAC) situation created mainly by uprooting or squeezing the people from their ancestral habitats for creating space for animals . HAC have occurred since the dawn of history but in re- cent past the blurring of lines between human settle- ments and forests resulted into more human losses than ever. As of May 2012, the protected areas of India covered 156,700 square kilometres. National parks, Wildlife sanctuaries, conservation Reserves and community Reserves comprise four main categories of Pro- tected areas as per wildlife Pro- tection Act 1972. The issue has three main players :- Forest laws and acts ..Lack of in-depth study before enacting forest act where in law mak- ing machinery failed to institute means to protect rights of Hu- mans & HAC. Displacement and rehabilitation Forced/coercive Displacement and unrealistic rehabilitation policy. The villages which fall on/near protected areas are denceless to routine attacks by wildlife. The people residing in pro- tected areas prior to enact- ment of laws were not taken in confidence and majority had been coerced to move out of the area using any means possible. The territorial animals do not have enough space and theirpreydoesnothaveenough fodder, resulting in wild ani- mals moving out and venture close to human habitats in search of food. Unable to hunt down wild animals due to old age, sometimes animals tend to hunt domestic animals and at- tack even men. Wild animals grazing in agricultural field constitute one of the major causes of crop damage. According to data from the Union environment ministry, more than 1608 humans (one human killing per day) have been killed In HAC cases be- tween 2013 and 2017. The loss of crops to farmers, human be- ings getting injured or killed and the insensitive attitude of forest officialsclosing the case with meagre compensation needs to be addressed by gov- ernment. According to reports, only 0.1 to 8% farmers received compensation between 2009 and 2015, and while over 90% farmers near buffer zones suf- fered losses. Farmers are helpless to pro- tect crop damage by wild her- bivores, which are protected under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and the respective wildlife laws of States. The En- vironment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Biological Diver- sity Act, 2002 and 2006 Amend- ment provide complete protec- tion of the biodiversity but what about Human rights of people affected ? There have been increased reports of attacks on human by animals in the forests. The for- est officials can’t be mute spec- tator to the loss of human life or property. Government has right to frame laws to protect animals but where is its duty to institute procedure to protect the very people squeezed around the protected areas by enacting animal friendly laws. Who is the greater victim in this situation? The animals who seek to widen their terri- tory in search of food because their habitats are encroached upon? Or the farmers who feed the world and whose livelihood is completely dependent on ag- riculture? To provide a balance of jus- tice,collectiveactionneedstobe taken by the government, poli- cymakers, Forest Department, Revenue department, locals, and other stakeholders Indian Forest Act and policies di need reforms and amendments for protecting human rights of af- fected Human beings. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL HUMAN - ANIMAL CONFLICT... WHO IS THE REAL VICTIM? Forest areas are increasingly decreasing and there seems to be a tug of war for land O Who is the greater victim in this situation? The animals who seek to widen their territory in search of food because their habitats are encroached upon? Or the farmers who feed the world and whose livelihood is completely dependent on agriculture? To provide collective action needs to be taken by govt, policymakers, Forest Department, Revenue department, locals, and other stakeholders veryone wants to know what Mark Zucker- berg believes, just as everyone wants to hear the songs Elon Musk records and re- leases to the public. When you’re that rich, that fa- mous and that powerful, the world is curious to know everything there is to know about your beliefs, hobbies and desires. Who, for example, wasn’t im- pressed two years ago upon learning that Warren Buf- fett splurges as much as $3.17 on his breakfast every day at McDonalds, and that when he’s “not feeling quite so prosperous, [he] might go with the $2.61?” And now the world and the media have had the chance to discover the pro- found truth about Zucker- berg’s hitherto unex- pressed religious beliefs. These details, whether it’s about breakfast menus or religious beliefs, are things the world needs to know because they may supply people who aren’t rich, fa- mous and powerful with the keys to becoming any or all of those things. Zuckerberg gave at a con- ference in Utah, the found- er and CEO of Facebook for the first time revealed his deepest thoughts on spirit- uality. “I think there’s a comfort in knowing and having confidence that there are things bigger than you … it’s why I have so much faith in democra- cy overall, it’s why I care so much about giving people a voice.” He added: “You have to believe in things that are bigger than yourself.” Contextual Note Zuckerberg takes the atti- tudethatextremelywealthy people are role models for the entire world, not for their neighbors. If his the neighbors in Hawaii had followed Trump Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s advice to Greta Thunberg, who said he would take the Swedish teenager seriously after she has enrolled in a college economics course, they might have under- stood that the property taxes Zuckerberg pays con- tribute handsomely to their community’s prosperity. This means that his wealth is somehow trickling down to them. It’s win-win, so they have no reason to com- plain. The rest of us ordinary people know that there is somethingbiggeroutthere, something that constrains our power and limits our action in the world. Zucker- berg reigns over Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — the networks that struc- ture contemporary civiliza- tion. When someone who feels little constraint on his actions and initiatives in- side a social network uni- verse that now encompass- es every nation on earth and touches close to half the world’s population, we should listen carefully to his testimony. He has reveaed, though more as a joke, that his de- ity apparently doesn’t have an operational role at Face- book, either as staff or a consultant: “I did not mean to say that God is a mentor.” How his conversion from materialistic atheism will influence his management of the social media so many humans are addicted to re- mains to be seen. He does revealthetwomajorfactors that led to this change of theological perspective when he confesses that “the birth of his daughters and the challeng es his compa- ny have faced have influ- enced his faith.” Perhaps his experience as a father has taught him that it’s more difficult to manipu- late a single infant than the billions of Facebook’s sub- scribers he has no personal reason even to care about. FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.FAIROBERVER.COM Zuckerberg takes a timid stab at theology E Mark Zuckerberg, having discovered humility, is actively seeking to understand Facebook’s and his own position in the universe TOP TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp The 241 Km Sambalpur- Gopalpur new line via Phulbani at a cost of Rs 2957 crores will not only significantly increase connectivity in the tribal areas but will also give boost to local economy. COL DEVANAND LOHAMAROD
- 7. INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 07www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AADHAAR NUMBER UNDER NPR COLLECTED VOLUNTARILY: MOS New Delhi: MoS for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, said, “In pursuance of Sub- rule (4) of Rule 3 of the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, framed under the Citizenship Act, 1955, Central Government decided to prepare and update the population register during April to September, 2020 along with House listing and Housing Census through- out the country except Assam for collection of information relating to all persons usually residing in village or town. Aad- haar number under the NPR is collected volun- tarily.” SAJJAD LONE, PARRA RELEASED FROM DETENTION IN J&K Srinagar: People’s Conference leader Sajjad Lone and People’s Democratic Party’s Wahid Parra have been released from detention in Jammu and Kashmir. Both the leaders were detained follow- ing the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Several leaders including former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were detained after the abro- gation of Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in August last year. CONG PREZ SONIA GANDHI DISCHARGED FROM HOSPITAL New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who was undergoing treatment for a stomach infection at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here, was discharged on Wednesday. Gandhi was admitted to hospital on Sunday evening. “She has recov- ered from stomach infection and was discharged today morning. Her condition was stable at the time of discharge,” Dr D S Rana, the chairman, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said in a medical bulle- tin. The Congress chief did not attend the Union Budget presentation in Parliament on Saturday. EC AGAIN BANS BJP MP PARVESH VERMA FROM CAMPAIGNING New Delhi: BJP MP Parvesh Verma has been banned again from campaigning in Delhi for 24 hours for calling CM Kejriwal a “terrorist”, the EC said. He was banned from campaigning for 96 hours for making hate speeches. “The Commission is of view that Parvesh Sahib Singh made vitriolic aspersions against Arvind Kejriw- al, CM of Delhi which violate... the MCC...” the election body said. The first ban on campaigning by Verma came after he claimed that those who have dug in on a stretch of road at Shaheen Bagh against the amended citizenship law “will enter your houses, rape your sisters and daughters”. Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet head- ed by CM Kamal Nath passed a resolution against CAA & urged the NDA government at the Centre to take it back. “Today, the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Kamal Nath brought a resolu- tion that CAA is some- where affecting Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees equality to people. So, like states of Chhattis- garh, Rajasthan & Pun- jab, MP cabinet too has requested the central government to take it back,” state Law & Le- gal Affairs Minister PC Sharma said. Asked if the resolution will be brought in the Assem- bly as well, he said: “Definitely. That is the process.” —ANI Resolution against CAA passed by MP Cabinet ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE Devotees throng the historic Sri Brahadeeswara temple for Kumbabishekam in Thanjavur on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI New Delhi: SC said that it will start from March 17 the final hearing on the peti- tions challenging the constitutional validity of a Maharashtra law, which grants reserva- tion to Maratha com- munity in education and jobs. A division bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao & Deepak Gupta refused to pass an in- terim order and said, “We will hear on March 17. We will hear the matter finally and pass the order. We are not staying it. Already there is an order that all appointments will be subject to the out- come of this petition,” the bench said. —ANI SC to start final hearing on Maratha reservation pleas HEARING ON REFERENCE TO LARGER BENCH ON FEB 6 New Delhi: A nine- judge Constitution bench of SCwill hear on Feb 6 argument on the issue whether the court can refer ques- tions of law to a larger bench on a review peti- tion. The bench is hear- ing matters relating to discrimination against women in various reli- gions including Sabari- mala temple, mosques, Parsi women married to non-Parsi men being barred from its holy fire temple. —ANI IN THE COURTYARD Chennai: One of Tamil cinema’s highest paid actors, Vijay is being questioned in connec- tion to a tax evasion case. The properties of AGS Cinemas and film financier Anbu Cheli- yan are being raided in Madurai. Vijay’s 2019 film, Bigil, was pro- duced by AGS Cinemas, and has reportedly grossed Rs 300 crore worldwide. As per sources,Vijay was shooting for his up- coming film, Master, at the Neyveli coal mines along with Vijay Sethu- pathi when the IT offi- cials reached there. The actor was report- edly issued summons over his income follow- ing the success of the sports drama. His ques- tioning is expected to continue on Wednes- day evening as he ar- rives in Chennai. Searches were also carried out at the ac- tor’s residence in Sep- tember 2015. —Agencies Actor Vijay being questioned for tax evasion, Bigil producers raided Mumbai court refuses to grant bail to Urvashi in sedition case Mumbai: A Mumbai court rejected the an- ticipatory bail applica- tion filed by Urvashi Chudawala, who was recently booked in a se- dition case for allegedly raising “anti-national slogans” in support of JNU student Sharjeel Imam. Additional sessions judge Prashant Rajvaid- ya rejected interim re- lief after hearing argu- ments from both sides. The court observed that prima facie the case of Section 124 (sedition) of the IPC is made out against her and there- fore anticipatory bail cannot be granted. Dur- ing the hearing, public prosecutor Jaysinh De- sai opposed the relief and said: “she was sup- porting a person who is officially an enemy of the state.” “We are at an investi- gation stage, we have to ascertain other several things & for that further probe is needed. —ANI New Delhi: Delhi HC directed the Min- istry of Housing and Urban Affairs to ask illegal occupants of government accom- modations living since 1998 to vacate the houses within the next 15 days. The court was hearing a petition filed by an organisa- tion named Anti-Cor- ruption Council of India. A division bench of CJ DN Patel & Justice C Hari Shankar told the ministry to put the belongings of people illegally occupying government accom- modation on the road if they do not vacate the house. The next hearing would take place on Feb 27. —ANI Vacateillegallyoccupiedgovernment accommodations within 15 days: HC Hosapete: Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev hailed the central government for the announcement of the trust to oversee Ram Temple construc- tion in Ayodhya and said that a museum, re- search centre and uni- versity should also be built in the holy city. “Prime Minister Nar- endra Modi has taken a historic decision by giv- ing 67-acre land for Ram Temple. I congratulate him and Amit Shah for the same. For the first time, we have a prime minister who is proud of being a Hindu and by raising slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in the parlia- ment, he has expressed his devotion towards ‘maryada-purshottam’ Lord Rama,” Ramdev said. He added, “Along with the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a world-class museum, world-class research centre, one of the world’s biggest univer- sity should be made based on the Indian cul- ture, where the whole world can come and wit- ness the pride of Indian culture.” Speaking in the Lok Sabha, PM Modi said that the trust has been named ‘Shri Ram Jan- mabhoomi Teertha Kshetra’. Supreme Court of India. We have readied a scheme for the development of Ram Temple in Ayod- hya. A trust has been formed, it is called ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra.” —ANI ‘ALONG WITH RAM TEMPLE, MUSEUM, RESEARCH CENTRE, UNIV SHOULD BE MADE IN AYODHYA’ Defence Minister Rajnath Singh meets Maj Gen Raiimberdi Duishenbiev, Chief of General Staff of Kyrgyz Armed Forces and Defence Minister of Kyrgyzstan during ‘Defence Expo 2020’ in Lucknow. New Delhi: Union Min- ister Rajnath Singh hailed PM Modi for an- nouncing the formation of ‘Shri Ram Janmab- hoomi Teertha Kshetra’ trust saying that the representation of Scheduled Castes in the trust will strengthen so- cial harmony. Taking to Twitter, Singh wrote in Hindi, “Prime Minister Naren- dra Modi has honoured the spirits of crores of citizens of this country by announcing the for- mation of Ram Temple Trust. With the repre- sentation of Dalit com- munity in the trust, so- cial harmony has been strengthened. I heartily congratulate the Prime Minister for this deci- sion.” Meanwhile, UP Chief Minister has also lauded PM Modi’s deci- sion saying that this trust will be completely independent and capa- ble of making decisions related to the Ram Tem- ple construction. “I would thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for setting up an autonomous trust to build a grand temple at the birthplace of Lord Shri Ram. The ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra’ Trust will be completely inde- pendent and capable of making all decisions related to temple con- struction. Jai Shri Ram!” Yogi tweeted in Hindi. —ANI ‘Ram Mandir Trust’s Dalit inclusion fortifies harmony’ New Delhi: BJP MP GVL Narasim- ha Rao hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision for estab- lishing a Ram tem- ple trust, and called it the most impor- tant announcement of free India. Calling it an “auspicious” day, he said that the Centre has taken a big initiative to im- plement the order of the Supreme Court in a proper manner. “The an- nouncement made by the Prime Minis- ter in the Parlia- ment is most impor- tant of free India and the day is aus- picious because Centre has taken a big initiative to im- plement the Su- preme Court’s or- der properly,” Rao said. —ANI ‘Formation of Trust was important for free India’ Ayodhya: Dharm Das Maharaj of the Akhil Bhartiya Panch Ramanandi Nirmani Ani Akha- ra expressed happi- ness over PM Modi’s announce- ment of the forma- tion. “I am happy that the announce- ment of trust has been made. The trust should have been formed last month. While the world is happy that we have got suc- cess,” he said. Chief Priest of Ram Janmabhoo- mi Temple Achar- ya Satyendra Das said, “Trust should have been formed a couple of months ago. Unless the trust is constitut- ed, the temple can- not be built. I am happy that our wishes have been fulfilled.” —ANI PRIESTS IN AYODHYA EXPRESS HAPPINESS ‘IT IS A DAY OF IMMENSE PRIDE’ ‘BJP WORRIED OVER DELHI POLLS’ New Delhi: BJP leader Uma Bharti congratu- lated PM Modi for his decision to constitute a Ram temple Trust. She tweeted, “It is a day of immense pride and happiness as PM Narendra Modi has announced the consti- tution of Ram Temple Trust.” the PM stood from his seat in Lok Sabha to declare that the Union Cabinet has decided to form a trust. New Delhi: “Session of Parliament will end on February 11, the announcement could have come after 8th February. Seems like BJP is worried over Delhi elections. It (formation of trust) was the decision of Supreme Court which is supreme,” AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said after PM Modi an- nounced the formation of Ram Temple trust.
- 8. INDIAAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 08www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia KAUN BANEGA SEBI CHAIRMAN? (3) Madhabi Puri Buch As an internal candidate Mad- habi Puri Buch is said to be the top contender for the post of Chairman SEBI. She is presently whole time member of SEBI. EXTENSION TO CMDS & DIRECTORS OF SOME PSUS DECLINED The Government of India has declined extension to a number of CMD and Directors before their dates of superannuation in various Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). SECRETARY FINANCE RAJIV KUMAR TO RETIRE Secretary Finance Rajiv Kumar is retiring on Feb 28. He is a 1984 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre. 5 IFS OFFICERS OF 1998 BATCH EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOVT OF INDIA Five officers of 1998 batch of Indian Forest Ser- vice have been empanelled for holding Joint Sec- retary level posts in Government of India. They are: Franklin L Khobung of Gujarat; Vivek Pandey of UD; Priya Ranjan of Rajasthan; Suneesh Buxy of UT and Rajeev Sharma of West Bengal. 5 IOFS OFFICERS OF 1990 BATCH EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOVT OF INDIA Five officers of 1990 batch of Indian Ordnance Factory Service have been empanelled for hold- ing Joint Secretary level posts in Government of India. They are: Prakash Agarwal, Rajeev Sharma, Satyabrata Mukherjee, Sanjay Srivastava and Arti C Srivastava. 12 IRS-IT OFFICERS OF 1994 BATCH EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOI As many as 12 officers of 1994 batch of Indian Revenue Service of Income Tax cadre have been empanelled for holding Joint Secretary level posts in Government of India. They are: Vanita Rattan Sharma, Upendra Bhushan Mishra, Shahi Sanjay Kumar Vatsalya Saxena, Raj Gopal Shar- ma, Deepika Mittal, Ansuman Pattnaik, S Uma Venkatesan, Aroop Kumar Singh, Manoj Kumar, Satender Singh Rana and Rajesh Kumar Bhoot. TWO IRTS OFFICERS OF 1996 BATCH EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOI Two officers of 1996 batch of Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) have been empanelled for holding Joint Secretary level posts in Govern- ment of India. They are: Mandeep Singh Bhatia and Vikas Chaube. 6 IRTS OFFICERS OF 1997 BATCH EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOI Six officers of 1997 batch of Indian Railway Traf- fic Service (IRTS) have been empanelled for hold- ing Joint Secretary level posts in Government of India. They are: Harbinder Singh Bajwa, Surenrea Kumar Ahirwar, Priyaranjan Parhi, Jasmeet Singh Bindra, Vikram Singh and Anshuman Kumar. KUSHVINDER VORA EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOI Kushvinder Vohra has been empanelled for hold- ing Joint Secretary level posts in Government of India. He is a 1986 batch CWES officer. MK SRINIVAS EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOI MK Srinivas has been empanelled for holding Joint Secretary level posts in Government of India. He is a 1987 batch CWES officer. AJAY KUAMR SRIVASTAVA EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOVERNMENT OF INDIA Ajay Kumar Srivastava has been empanelled for holding Joint Secretary level posts in Govern- ment of India. He is a 1989 batch Indian Trade Service officer. AKASH TANEJA EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOI Akash Taneja has been empanelled for holding Joint Secretary level posts in Government of India. He is a 1990 batch Indian Trade Service officer. DEPUTATION TENURE OF RAJBIR SINGH PANWAR EXTENDED The central deputation tenure of Rajbir Singh Panwar working as Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare has been extended for a period of two years beyond March 22, 2020. He is a 1991 batch IFS officer of Gujarat cadre. DEPUTATION TENURE OF ABHISHEK TRIVEDI EXTENDED The deputation tenure of Abhishek Trivedi work- ing as IG, NSG, has been extended for a period of two years beyond January 11, 2020. He is a 1996 batch IPS officer of HP cadre. PRASHANT LOKHANDE RETURNS TO PARENT CADRE Prashant S Lokhande, Counsellor (Economic), Embassy of India, Beijing, is returning to parent cadre i.e., the Ministry of Home Affairs (UT divi- sion). He is a 2001 batch IAS officer of UT cadre. POWERGallery Krishnanagar: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee hit out at the BJP's central govern- ment and said that it would “sell off” every- thing and what will remain are the detention camps. “BJP will lose Delhi elections. They are los- ing states but they are shameless. They will sell everythingandwhatwill remain are the detention camps,” Mamata said at apoliticalworkers'meet- ing of TMC. “They are privatiz- ing Air India, LIC & are even thinking of privatizing Indian Railways. Our money is not secure today,” she added. She also hit out at Union Minister Anurag Thakur for his “goli maro” comments, made against anti-CAA protesters. “Yesterday in LS, the govt said that NRC will not happen. They keep on changing theirwords.If NPRisthe first step to NRC then why will we agree to it?” the CM added. —ANI ‘BJPwillsellallexceptdetentioncamps’ Chennai: Actor- turned-politician Ra- jinikanth took his stance on the Citizen- ship Amendment Act, saying if the Muslims are affected by it then he will be first to stand up for them. Speaking to report- ers, Rajinikanth said, “The CAA will not af- fect any citizen of our country and if it affects the Muslims then I will be the first person to stand up for them.” The actor-turned-politician also commented on the National Population Register (NPR) and Na- tional Register of Citi- zen (NRC). He said that the NPR is a necessity to find out about the outsiders. “It has been clarified that NRC has not been for- mulated yet,” he added. Meanwhile, a tweet regarding Rajini- kanth's remark went viral after being tweet- ed by ANI's official handle. —ANI RajnikanthbacksModi onnewCitizenshipLaw New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Naren- dra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying that both of them teach pat- riotism to people which is not needed because “every citizen of the country is a patriot”. “Narendra Modi ji and Kejriwal ji teach patriotism to people. It is not needed as every citizen of the country is a patriot. This (to por- tray some people as an- ti-national etc) is just a way to divide people,” Gandhi said while ad- dressing a gathering in Kondli here. The Con- gress leader further al- leged that in the last five years the commu- nal harmony of India has deteriorated. “In the last five years, the environment of In- dia has deteriorated, have you noticed? The peace and brotherhood which prevailed earlier is not there. If a 10-year- old girl (sitting in the crowd) can understand that then I am sure oth- ers will also under- stand,” he said. He further hit out at two leaders over the is- sue of corruption alleg- ing that while both Modi and Kejriwal had promised to eradicate corruption, but the cor- ruption has instead gone up. “Kejriwal talked of eradicating corruption. Narendra Modi talked of eradicating corrup- tion. Both of them talkedabouteradicating corruption. Has it been eradicated? The country knows that corruption has rather increased in- stead of getting eradi- cated,” he said. —ANI EVERY CITIZEN IS A PATRIOT: RAHUL HITS OUT AT PM MODI, KEJRIWAL New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gan- dhi Vadra on Wednes- day once again tar- geted the Prime Min- ister and Delhi CM, saying they both are hungry for publicity. She said this during an election rally at Old Delhi’s Hauz Qazi area ahead of Delhi Assembly polls. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are only hun- gry for publicity,” said the Congress general secretary, reportsPTI. She also targeted BJP leaders, saying their character can be defined by their slo- gans. Claiming that Del- hi’s development took place during Congress regime under late Shei- la Dixit’s chief minis- tership, she apologised to the crowd for arriv- ing the venue late and said she would have reached on time had she taken the Metro. ‘PMModiandCMKejriwal only hungry for publicity’ Priyanka Gandhi during an election rally in New Delhi. CCC RAHUL’S REMARKS OVER TEMPLE TRUST RAHUL, PRIYANKA ADDRESS RALLIES IN KONDLI, HAUZ QAZI New Delhi: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ad- dressed public rallies in Kondli and Hauz Qazi on Wednesday. The two senior leaders began campaigning for Delhi polls on Tuesday with rallies in Jangpura and Sangam Vihar areas. Former Prime Minister and senior Congress leader Dr Manmohan Singh also addressed a rally in Rajouri Garden area on Tuesday. Ear- lier on Sunday, the Congress released its manifesto for the Delhi Assembly elections. Election to the 70-member Assembly will be held on Feb 8, while the results will be declared on Feb 11. AMIT SHAH ADDRESSES MULTIPLE RALLIES IN DELHI New Delhi: Home Minister & BJP leader Amit Shah addressed multiple rallies in poll-bound Delhi. With polling sched- uled for February 8, the campaigning in national capital has reached to its peak. Shah who has been actively campaign- ing in Delhi for last few days also ad- dressed public rallies in Kondli, Trilokpu- ri, Krishna Nagar&Gandhi Nagar areas. He had held multiple rallies & roadshows in Delhi to seek vote for party candidates. BJP is holding a Janasampark Abhiyan across the city in a bid to reach out to every household and request them to vote for it in upcoming election. Srinagar: J&KDGPDil- bag Singh said that two terrorists were killed whileathirdwasinjured on Srinagar-Baramulla road after they fired at police and CRPF party deployed there. “Two terrorists killed, one terrorist in- jured on Srinagar-Bara- mulla road, after they fired at police and CRPF party deployed there,” he said while address- ing a press conference. However, the terror- ist who was injured in today’s retaliatory fir- ing by security forces at Srinagar-Baramulla road succumbed to his injuries. The DGP further in- formed that around 20 terroristshavebeenneu- tralised so far this year. Earlier, it was report- ed that two terrorists were killed and one CRPF jawan lost his life after terrorists attacked a check-post in Parim Pora, Srinagar. Un- known terrorists fired upon troops of 73 Bn CRPF. CRPF retaliated and neutralized 2 terror- ists & apprehended 1 ter- rorist in injured condi- tion & recovered arms & ammunition. Constable Ramesh Ranjan, 30, re- ceived a bullet injury on the head and lost his life. Identification of terror- ists is being done. —ANI ‘2 terrorists killed, 1 injured after firing at Police & CRPF party’ J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh addressing a press conference in Srinagar. GUNBATTLE CAA STIR CM Mamata Banerjee rings a bell to mark her protest against CAA at a convention in Naida district. CRAFTS MELA Folk artists from Jammu and Kashmir perform at the chaupal during the 34th International Surajkund Crafts Mela in Faridabad on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Si- tharaman will embark on a 3-day official tour to Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata starting February 7 to hold in- teractions with indus- try leaders and vari- ous stakeholders on different themes of Budget 2020. FM to visit Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata to interact with experts over Budget 2020 ‘CAA BEING USED TO DIVERT ATTENTION’
- 9. SPORTSAHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020 09www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Amira, Anahat claim titles at squash tourney Jaipur: Siblings Amira and Anahat Singh both emerged winners at the Northern Slam Junior Squash tournament 2020 -- a five-star Asian circuit tournament held in the pink city. Amira won in the Under 19 cat- egory after defeating Megha Bhatia of Delhi in the finals on Tuesday. With the win, Amira has secured her No. 2 seeding in the country in the GU19 category. Anahat, on the other hand, emerged victori- ous in the Under 13 cat- egory by beating Diya Yadav of Maharashtra. With this, she has won all the four grand slam titles -- northern, south- ern, eastern and west- ern slam securing her top spot in India and Asia. Constantly rated among the brightest young talents in the country, Anahat won the British, Dutch and European Open titles last year. Both the girls were being trained un- der Amjad Khan and Gaurav Nanderjog in the national capital. Govt assured entry of Chinese wrestlers New Delhi: The Wres- tling Federation of In- dia (WFI) on Wednesday said it has got assur- ance from the central government that “quar- antined” Chinese grap- plers will not be denied entry into the country for the upcoming Asian Championship despite fears surrounding the deadly coronavirus. The Indian government has suspended the e-vi- sa facility for the Chi- nese travellers, fearing the spread of the virus which has claimed 490 lives so far. —Agencies No fund shortage for NSFs: Rijiju New Delhi: Sports Min- ister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday assured that there will be no short- age of funds for NSFs, despite the govt slash- ing its allocation in an Olympic year. The govt last week gave a sub- stantial hike of Rs 312.42 cr to its flagship Khelo India programme but reduced allocation to the NSFs, NSDF and incentives for sport- spersons. “If there are shortage of funds for the federations, these can always be taken up, that is why there is a provision for revision. If they need more mon- ey, they will get more money,” Rijiju told re- porters during an inter- action here. —Agencies BRIEF in Auckland: Striker Navneet Kaur scored a brace to guide the In- dian women’s hockey team to a convincing 3-0 win over New Zea- land in the last game of its five-match tour on Wednesday. Navneet found the net in the 45th and 58th minutes, while Sharmi- la scored a field goal in the 54th min as India drew curtains on NZ tour on a bright note. After a goalless open- ing two quarters, Navneet finally broke the deadlock for India in the 45th minute Sharmila then dou- bled the lead when she struck a powerful shot past the NZ goalkeeper in the 54th minute. Navneet found the net again just two minutes from the final hooter with a beautiful field strike. India began the tour by thrashing NZ Development squad 4-0 before suffering close 1-2 and 0-1 defeats to the home senior team. In penultimate game of the tour, skipper Ra- ni’s lone strike handed India a 1-0 win over Great Britain. “...I am happy we pro- duced three goals against New Zealand in the last match. This tour gave us a good in- sight about where we need to improve and one of the things is to create faster play than we do now,” said India’s Coach Sjoerd Marijne. Commenting on his side’s performance dur- ing the tour, Marijne said, “Sometimes we tend to keep the ball too long on the stick and then we create pres- sure. We need to avoid that by passing faster.” —Agencies Indian women hockey team defeat hosts by 3-0 NEW ZEALAND TOUR ON A HIGH Navneet Kaur scored a brace to guide Indian women’s hockey team to a convincing 3-0 win over New Zealand in the last game of its five-match tour Rajkot: Sheldon Jack- son hit a stroke-filled 85 to put Saurashtra on the verge of securing a vital first innings lead against Mumbai on the second day of their Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match here on Wednesday. Saurashtra bundled out Mumbai for 262 and then rode on Jackson’s gritty 85 to end the sec- ond day at 257/6, as they trail by just five runs. Saurshtra skipper Arpit Vasavada (46) and Chirag Jani (45 not out) also made valuable con- tributions to take the game away from the 41- time Ranji champion. Saurashtra lost open- er Snell Patel (4) early. Then Mumbai offie Shashank Attarde gave a double-blow to the hosts removing another opener Harvik Desai (33) and Divyaraj Chau- han (22) in quick suc- cession to leave them teetering at 73-3. Then Jackson and Vasavada began the res- cue act by stitching a 82-run stand for the fourth wicket. After playing patiently, Vasa- vada upped the ante. However, left-arm pacer Royston Dias trapped Vasavada in front of the wicket as he brought Mumbai back into the game. Mankad (1) too fell cheaply as Saurashtra losthalf theirsideat173. The fall of wickets did not deter Jackson from playinghisshotsevenas he found an able partner in Jani, who held one end up. Jackson in his 151-balls innings ham- mered 10 fours and one hit over the fence. He, however missed a deserving hundred, af- ter edging one from Bhoir to wicket-keeper Tare at the fag end of the day. —Agencies New Delhi: Delhi’s lim- ited bowling resources and the overly defensive attitude of skipper Sho- rey stood exposed as Manprit Juneja and Dhruv Rawal raised 181 runs in their ongoing fifth-wicket stand and put Gujarat on top at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Tro- phy match here on Wednesday. After cleaning up the last 4 Delhi wickets for just 23 runs in morning session and restricting the host to 293, Guj found itself in trouble at 88 for 4. But thereaf- ter, right-handed Juneja (88 batting, 134, 1x6) and left-handed Raval (83 batting, 12x4) counter- attacked and won the day for Gujarat. At stumps, Gujarat was 269 for 4 and needed another 25 to take the first innings lead. With 2 days to go, Gujarat is in a position to press for an outright victory. Kalaria scalped three tailenders to finish with five for 78 after Chintan Gaja bowled Kunwar Bidhuri (78) on his over- night score. —Agencies Kolkata: Indian lift- er Rakhi Halder was way short of her per- sonal best but she still managed to clinch the 64kg gold in the 72nd Men’s and 35th Senior Women’s National Weightlifting Cham- pionships here on Wednesday. Ranked 19th in the Olympic qualifiers list, Rakhi lifted 93 kg in snatch and 117 kg in clean and jerk on way to her gold medal with a total of 210kg, still 10kg ahead of her nearest rival Harjinder Kaul. The Bengal lifter, a Railways employee, had produced a per- sonal best of 218 kg (95kg in snatch + 123 kg in clean and jerk) at the Qatar Interna- tional Cup last year where she won the bronze medal. At the Common- wealth Champion- ship in June 2019, Rakhi had clinched the gold with a total lift of 214-kg (94+120). Results: Men’s 81kg: Papul Changmai (SSCB) (145+172=317); Amar- jit Guru (RSPB) (137+172=309); U S i v a p r a k a s h (136+171=307). Wom- en’s 64kg: Rakhi Hal- der (RSPB) (93+117=210); Har- jinder Kaur (Chandi- garh) (90+110=200); K Roshilata Devi (Ma- nipur) (80+107=187). —Agencies 64-kg Rakhi Halder lifts 210kgs, wins national gold Saurashtra on course to take first-innings lead Juneja, Rawal put Gujarat on top Hamilton: India's run- machine Virat Kohli on Wednesday added yet another feather to his cap by surpassing Sourav Ganguly in the list of India skippers with most ODI runs. Kohli scored 51 off 63 deliveries in first ODI of the 3-match rubber against NZ. SKIPPER KOHLI SURPASSESGANGULY Hamilton: After coming close on three occasions to beat India in the on- going tour, New Zealand were final- ly able to cross the line and taste vic- tory as they defeat- ed the Men in Blue by four wickets in the first ODI at the Seddon Park on Wednesday. Sea- soned campaigner Ross Taylor an- chored New Zea- land's chase of 348 by scoring a bril- liant hundred. He was well supported by Henry Nicholls and stand-in cap- tain Tom Latham as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the three- match series. The Black Caps started off the chase on a cautious note as both Martin GuptillandNicholls played with intent. Such was the deter- mination from Gup- till (32) that he scored just two boundaries in 41 balls before getting out to Shardul Thakur on the team score of 85. Debutant Tom Blundell, who came in first down, didn't have a great outing and was stumped by KL Rahul at his in- dividual score of 9. At that point of time, the match ap- peared to be head- ing in India's favour. However, it was then that Taylor brought in all his experience and alongwith Nicholls shared a 62-run stand. After Nicholls' dismissal who was sent back to the pavilion cour- tesy some brilliant fielding efforts from Virat Kohli, Latham joined forces with Taylor and steered the team towards victory. The match did seem to once again turn towards India as New Zealand lost two wickets in quick succession and brought the crowd to the edge of the seats. However Mitchell Santner smashed two boundaries in Thakur's 48th over and erased hopes of any upset. —Agencies Hamilton: Ross Taylor got the hundred but India captain Virat Kohli said it was Tom Latham's 48-ball 69 that took away the momentum from his side in the high-scor- ing first ODI against New Zealand here on Wednesday. New Zealand recorded their highest-ever run chase, 348, riding on Ross Taylor's 84-ball- 109 not out and stand-in skipper Latham's attacking half-century. "It was an outstanding performance by New Zealand. We thought 348 was good enough. Ross is the experienced batsman they have but Tom's innings was the one that took away the momentum. Credit to Taylor and Tom," Kohli said at the post-match pres- entation ceremony. —Agencies TAYLOR SCRIPTS RECORD CHASE ROSS’S 108 LEADS NZ TO 4 WICKET WIN OVER INDIA LATHAM'S INNINGS TOOK AWAY MOMENTUM: KOHLI Rakhi Halder of RSPB competes to win the gold in the 64kg weightlifting event at the Senior National Weightlifting Championship in Kolkata on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI Virat Kohli shakes hand with skipper Tom Latham during the presentation ceremony on Wednesday. Ross Taylor celebrates his century during the One Day cricket intl between India and NZ at Seddon Oval in Hamilton on Wednesday. —PHOTOS BY PTI Sheldon Jackson India vs New Zealand Toss: India, bat first India R B 4 6 SR Shawc†LathambdeGrandhomme 20 21 3 0 95.23 MAAgarwalcBlundellbSouthee 32 31 6 0 103.22 VKohli(c)bSodhi 51 63 6 0 80.95 SSIyercSantnerbSouthee 103 107 11 1 96.26 KLRahul†notout 88 64 3 6 137.50 KMJadhavnotout 26 15 3 1 173.33 Extras:27(lb7,nb1,w19) Fallofwickets:1-50(PrithviShaw,7.6ov),2-54(Mayank Agarwal,8.4ov),3-156(ViratKohli,28.4ov),4-292(Shreyas Iyer,45.3ov) Total:347/4(50Overs,RR:6.94) Bowling:TGSouthee10-1-85-2,HKBennett10-0-77-0,Cde Grandhomme8-0-41-1,JDSNeesham8-0-52-0,MJSantner 10-0-58-0,ISSodhi4-0-27-1. NewZealand R B 4 6 SR MJGuptillcJadhavbThakur 32 41 1 0 78.04 HMNichollsrunout(Kohli) 78 82 11 0 95.12 Blundellst†RahulbKuldeepYadav 9 10 1 0 90.00 LRPLTaylornotout 109 84 10 4 129.76 Latham(c)†cShamibYadav 69 48 8 2 143.75 JDSNeeshamcJadhavbShami 9 14 1 0 64.28 Grandhommerunout(Iyer/Kohli) 1 2 0 0 50.00 MJSantnernotout 12 9 1 1 133.33 Extras:29(lb4,nb1,w24) Fallofwickets:1-85(MartinGuptill,15.4ov),2-109(Tom Blundell,19.1ov),3-171(HenryNicholls,28.3ov),4-309(Tom Latham,41.4ov),5-328(JamesNeesham,45.2ov),6-331(Colinde Grandhomme,45.6ov) Extras:12(lb2,w10) Total:348/6(48.1Overs,RR:7.22) Bowling:JJBumrah10-1-53-0,MohammedShami9.1-0-63-1,SN Thakur9-0-80-1,RAJadeja10-0-64-0,KuldeepYadav10-0-84-2. NewZealandwonby4wickets SCOREBOARD