First India News Paper-Gujarat-English News Paper Today-05 March 2020 edition

AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 100 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah during a meeting in New Delhi. CORONAVIRUS SCARE: MODI-SHAH TO SKIP HOLI MILAN THIS YEAR 28 POSITIVE CASES OF THE DEADLY CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN INDIA SO FAR, SAID UNION HEALTH MINISTER HARSH VARDHAN —FILE PHOTO PM Modi set to visit Egypt next week Narendra Modi @narendramodi Experts across the world have advised to reduce mass gatherings to avoid the spread of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. Hence, this year I have decided not to participate in any Holi Milan programme. Narendra Modi Amit Shah @AmitShah Holi is a very important festival for we Indians but in the wake of Coronavirus, i have decided not to participate in any Holi Milan celebration this year. I also appeal everyone to avoid public gatherings and take a good care of yourself & your family. Amit Shah @AmitShah for we Indians but in the wake of Coronavirus, i have decided have advised to reduce mass A dia since 2008 as anti-ter- rorism cooperation and deradicalisation partner- ship gathered steam. India and Egypt had signed a security agreement related to sharing information on and combining forces against terror- ism. India and Egypt are also expanding naval cooperation and have explored possibilities of joint production of defence equipment. Ahead of the PM’s proposed eighth edition of India by the Nile festival is being held from March 2-10. It will showcase multidisciplinary performances, including puppet theatre, classi- cal and contemporary music, visual arts, food, yoga and dance across Cairo, Alexandria and Port Said. “I request everyone to take all important measures to prevent this. Some basic self- preventive measures are as simple as washing your hands and practising good hygiene,” he said. A total of 28 COV- ID-19 cases were detected in India so far. Among them, one person was from Delhi, six of his relatives in Agra, 16 Italians and their Indian driver, one in Telangana and the three earlier cases in Kerala. So far, 5,89,000 people have been screened at airports, over 10 lakh screened at borders with Nepal and around 27,000 were currently community surveil- lance, Union Health Minister Harsh Vard- han said. —PTI New Delhi: Plans are afoot for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Egypt next week, his first visit to the Arab world in 2020, aiming to expand strategic ties with a partner that has stood by India in times of crisis in recent years. Modi is expected to visit Cairo on March 14-15 following the India-EU Summit in Brussels, learnt. This visit will also mark commitment to Afri- ca ahead of the fourth edition of India-Afri- ca Summit in India later this year. Egypt, a key voice in the Arab world for dec- ades, has de-hyphenated its ties with India and Pa- kistan. While Manmo- han Singh was the last Indian PM to visit Egypt in 2009, every Egyptian President has visited In- man from Delhi had tested positive for coronavirus upon his ar- rival from Italy. His wife was also found to be positive in Jaipur. Home Minister Amit Shah also said on Wednesday the country was well prepared to contain the spread of COVID-19 Novel Coro- navirus and that he would not participate in ‘Holi Milan’ function in the wake of the reports of outbreak of the virus in different places. Shah also appealed to everyone to take all important measures to check the spread of coronavirus. This year, Holi is on March 10. Shah said India was well prepared and has taken all precautionary steps to contain the spread of coronavirus. mid the rising fears of coronavirus spread, Prime Min- ister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he would not be attend- ing the Holi Milan programme. PM Nar- endra Modi’s decision comes as experts have advised against mass gatherings, to avoid the spread of coronavirus. Three new cases of coronavirus have been reported in India this week after three patients from Kerala were cured last month. The total confirmed cases of coronavirus now stand at 6 in India. Several across Delhi and Noi- da have been shut amid coronavirus scare. The development came after a PM MODI REVIEWS PREPAREDNESS FOR COVID-19 P the Novel Corona virus. In a tweet, Modi said, different ministries and states are working together, from screening people arriving in India to providing prompt medical attention. He assured that there is no need to panic and there is need to work together and take small yet important measures to ensure self- protection. Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also held a review meeting with the Secretaries of concerned Ministries, Chief Secretaries and Health Secretaries of the States through video conference. The travel restrictions imposed from Monday were reviewed and shared with the States. The States were requested to hold coordination meetings with the related Ministries. rime Minister Narendra Modi had an extensive review of preparedness for ET has India’s visit, the schools under —Agencies Indonesia keen on being event partner for Vibrant Gujarat Summit, 2021 Haresh Jhala in the State. Rupani also told him that there is a good scope of explor- ing tourism sector in both the countries to attract investment and tourists. For the coal based thermal power plants, they discussed about the possible opportunities and how Indonesia could play a role in increasing sup- ply of coal to State power plants. He also expressed interest in increasing crude oil to Gujarat. Vijay Wednesday and they discussed mutual trade interests. The Rupani Government has been successfully attracting foreign investments. Saptono that Indonesia would like to join as a partner country in the bi- ennial Vibrant Guja- rat Summit while industries del- egations from his country would like to participate in the trade summit. The Chief Minister too gave a positive re- Rupani on STATE SIGNS MOU WITH IDST Gandhinagar: pressed by the Vijay Rupani regime’s industry-friendly policies, the Indonesian Government evinced interest in partnering with the State Government’s Vibrant Gujarat Sum- mit for 2021. It is keen to invest not only in Gujarat but also in the country. Indonesia’s Consul- General to India Agus Prihatin Saptono paid a visit to Chief Minister Im- offered has 2021, ested MNCs and entre- preneurs from foreign nations. briefed him the State’s policies that facilitate ease of doing business sponse to Indonesia’s offer. He informed the Consul-General Gujarat and India are keen to provide basic infrastructure to inter- Rupani that palm Chief Minister Vijay Rupani with Indonesia’s Consul-General to India Agus Prihatin Saptono, K Kailashnathan, Chief Principal Secretary to CM and Principal Secretary to CM MK Das. Turn on P5

TALKING POINT 02 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Daubed Holi players of Nandgaon during Latthmaar Holi celebrations at Barsana in Mathura. Women beating men with sticks during Latthmaar Holi celebrations at Barsana in Mathura on Wednesday. A mence. Holi is celebrated at the end of the month of Falgun on a full-moon day and most- ly falls in the month of February or March. This year, the main festival of Holi will be celebrated on 10 March. The celebration of this festival of colours is observed all over the country. Holi festival begins with Holika Da- han, which is one day prior to Holi or Rang- wali Holi, where people celebrate it by applying colours or Gulal to each other. It is also known as Dhulandi Holi in some parts of the country. Holi is around the corner; and like every year, the market has geared up to outdo itself — throwing at consumers all sorts of col- our-toys, water pistols, pichkaris and what have you. Apart from this, Holi festival has a special significance in neigh- bouring towns of Nand- gaon and gaon and Barsana. It is believed that Krishna went to meet Radha from Nandgaon to Barsana. During his visit, he playfully teased Radha and her friends who accompanied her. In return, chased him away from the town with bamboo sticks or lathis. Therefore, every year, men from Nandgaon visit Barsana during the Holi festival and practice the things, which also include celebrations with colours, dance, music, playing with sticks etc. which fall near Mathu- ra, Uttar Pradesh which is related to the Hindu God Krishna and God- dess Radha. In these places, Holi celebrations start off a week prior to the day of Holi. During this one- week celebration, Holi is celebrated in different forms like Lathmar Holi, Laddu Holi etc, which have its own significance in some parts of India. Lathmar Holi, a very popular celebration among the country and even abroad, is celebrated with zeal in Nand- few days are left for the festival of Holi to com- Lord women same Vendors selling coloured powder known as ‘Gulal’ prior to the Holi festival, in Kolkata on Wednesday. Barsana, Workers prepare herbal gulal powder ahead of Holi festival, in Jaipur. An artist performing Bhavai folk dance of Rajasthan during Faagutsav in Govind Dev ji temple. Women smear colours at each other during Holi celebrations, in Nadia district. —PHOTOS BY SUMAN SARKAR

AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJ ENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 100 19°C - 33°C OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Tourists wear a protective mask in wake of coronavirus, as they visit Taj Mahal in Agra on Wednesday. —Photo by ANI 16 LEAVE A DEADLY TRAIL IN RAJASTHAN Atleast 215 people came in contct with the Italian tourists, says Health Min Political turmoil: BJP trying to destabilise govt with help of mafias, says Kamal Nath these Wednesday afternoon. Their cell phones are also switched off. Chief Minister Ka- mal Nath on Wednes- day accused the BJP of attempting to destabilise the Congress government in the state with the help of mafias. “BJP with the help of mafias has been unsuc- cessfully trying to desta- bilize the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh,” Kamal Nath said. villas since Bhopal: After they were rescued’ from a luxury hotel in Hary- ana’s Manesar, the Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh have been brought to the chief minister’s residence in Bhopal. Eye- witness accounts put the heavy deployment of security personnel outside the CM’s residence in Shymala Hills area of MP’s capital city, Bhopal. Barricad- ing has also been put into place on all routes First India News Jaipur: 22 new positive cases of the novel coronavirus have found in India, said Un- ion Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.This brings the total number of cases in India to 28. Out of the 22 new cases, 16 have been reported in Jaipur- 15 Italians and one Indian. The group from Italy was on a holiday, while the Indian was the group’s bus driver, said Vardhan. All of them have got the disease from the patient who was confirmed to have contracted the virus earlier. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh- vardhan that all the infected have been confined to an isolation ward. In- vestigations that the group of 26 Italian tourists trave- led across six districts of the state. been leading towards the CM residence. Meanwhile, missing MLAs from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly have been traced to villas inside Air India can get an NRI owner! Government permits 100% stake New Delhi: The government on Wednes- day permitted NRIs to control up to 100 per cent stake in disin- vestment-bound Air India. The decision comes at a time when the government has sought preliminary bids for 100 per cent stake sale in the national carrier. “Today’s decision on Air India is one mile- ion Minister Prakash a gated community near Whitefield, the tech corridor of Ben- galuru city in Karna- taka. It is being reported that the legislators have been living in the Turn on P5 Pawan’s mercy plea rejected by the President Javadekar told reporters briefing about the cabinet decision. Non-resident Indi- ans (NRIs), who are In- dian nationals, will get permission to participate in Air India’s strategic sale. Earlier, they were allowed to own up to 49 per cent stake, the minister said. “Now they can take 100 per cent,” he added. New Delhi: Tihar jail authorities moved Del- hi’s Patiala Court seeking a fresh date of execution of death warrant for all four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape case. The move comes after President Ram Nath Kovind rejected convict Pawan Ku- mar’s mercy petition earlier on Wednesday . President of India @rashtrapatibhvn House Narendra Modi @narendramodi Experts across the world have advised to reduce mass gatherings to avoid the spread of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. Hence, this year I have decided not to participate in any Holi Milan programme Amit Shah @AmitShah Holi is a very important festival for we Indians but in the wake of Coronavirus, i have decided not to participate in any Holi Milan celebration this year. I also appeal everyone to avoid public gatherings With alertness, we all can help contain the informed outbreak of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus. In a precautionary measure, the Rashtrapati Bhavan will not hold Holi gatherings stone decision where NRIs... will get permission to invest 100 per cent in the airline,” Un- reveal Turn on P5 Govt admits insurance companies paying peanuts to farmers This is mockery of farmers and the State has taken a serious note of it, says Agriculture Minister RC Faldu India Assurance Com- pany had cleared a claim of Rs 24.42 crore. For Kharif 2018 season, four companies, Agriculture Insurance Company of India, Reli- ance General Insurance Company Ltd, Univer- sal Sompo General In- surance Company Ltd and Bharti Axa General Insurance Company -- had paid reimbursed farmers’ claim to the tune of Rs 2,438 crore against the premium of Rs 2,666 crore they had collected from the state and central governments. farmers’ claims. For instance, Bharti Axa General Company Ltd reimbursed just over Rs 7 lakh though the company had collected Rs 332 crore premium from the government. Agri- culture Insurance Com- pany of India had collected Rs 840 crore but released only Rs 6.76 lakh, the Congress asserted citing State Gov- ernment figures. It stated that in 2018- 19 Rabi crop season, Bharti Axa had reimbursed a claim of just Rs 63,853, while United given by Congress Legislative Deputy Shailesh Parmar, for 2019 kharif season the State and the Central Government had paid a premium of Rs 3,047 crore to four insurance companies like Agriculture Insurance Company of India, Reli- ance General Insurance Company Ltd, Universal Sompo General Insur- ance Company Ltd and Bharti Axa General In- surance Company Ltd. Against that, they paid just Rs 94.43 crore against Party’s Leader Insurance Haresh Jhala that in the Banaskan- tha district alone, an insurance company had paid Rs 2,669 as crop insurance claim to farmers. “This is mockery of farmers and the State has taken a serious note of it. We have spoken to insurance companies and prevailed upon them to clear higher claims,” he asserted. According to details Gandhinagar: State and Central Govern- ment are shelling out huge sums for crop insurance premium but the private companies are paying peanuts to farmers against their claims. Agriculture Minis- ter RC Faldu has admitted on the floor of the State Assembly the

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 05, 2020 04 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia The state health department has screened as many as 1,582 passengers returning from coronavirus-affected countries for Covid-19 infection since January 15; 25 suspected cases were tested and found to be negative First India News No coronavirus case in the state Screening at international airports tightened: Govt First India News The Gandhinagar: State Government on Wednesday came out with a reassurance that none of the 1,582 people kept under observation after returning from corona virus-hit countries since January 15 has so far been found to be infected by the po- tentially deadly virus. The Health Department stated that it has made elaborate ments to deal with any situation arising out of the outbreak of the corona virus, also known as COVID-19. “A total of 1,582 people, who came from countries that are grappling with the corona virus outbreak, have been kept under house observation in Gujarat but so far we do not have any positive case in the state,” State Health Commissioner Jai Prakash Shivhare told reporters here. Out of the 1,582 people, 25 were tested for COVID-19 and all of them have tested negative, he said. Among them, 964 people came here from China, 147 Thailand, 131 Australia and 98 from New Zea- land, while the remaining came from various other countries, he said. Shivhare said 87 people who recently returned from Iran are kept under house observation and are being monitored by health of- Gandhinagar: The State Government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) have set up special screening desks at the Ahmedabad and Surat international airports for passengers arriving from abroad, following instructions from the Centre. “Basically we are placing thermal scan- ners to check the arriving passengers from abroad. Besides, we will be screening the arriving passengers through the screening teams comprising medical and paramedical staff,” Jay- anti Ravi, Principal Sec- retary , Health and Fam- ily Welfare Department, Gujarat, has stated. “We are carrying out the entire procedure by coordinating with every agency, like the AAI, the central ment, the state government and the municipal corporations of both the cities. We have even imparted special training to them regarding the virus scare,” she said. Special desks have been set up at the ar- rival lounge at the Sard- ar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport arrange- Health workers screening passengers at Surat airport A’bad, Surat airports begin screening —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI Visitors to Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad are seen wearing masks. avoid going to crowded places. “Those who have cold should stay indoors. Such people should contact us and we will send our team for sample testing to their homes,” he said. There is no need to panic as the government is equipped to deal with the crisis and extensive training has been given to the staff to deal with it, the offi- cial said. So far, 28 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country . Three of the patients have recovered. The corona virus, which was first detected in China in December last year, has now spread to 60 countries. At least 3,100 people have died so far. ficials. According to the government’s instructions, passengers coming from the corona virus-affected countries are being screened at international airports, he said. The state government has decided to set up isolation wards in every district, the offi- cial said. Till now, the COVID-19 wards were functional in some Civil Hospitals only. Private hospitals have also been asked to keep isolation wards ready, Shivhare said, adding there is no shortage of medicines or masks in the state and nobody rush to buy them. He said maintaining per- screened late Tues- day night. Deputy health commissioner of SMC said, “We have started screening people coming through international flights to Surat. If his or her tempera- ture is normal, the passenger will go through a routine check-up. If any sus- picions are raised, the passenger will be sent to the isolation ward in New Civil Hospital or SMIMER.” Ahmedabad/ rat: With the number of cases of coronavirus disease on the rise, airport authorities in Surat Ahmedabad are taking no chances. As many as 118 passengers were screened at the Ahmedabad airport on Wednesday. All passengers were cleared. Similarly, in Surat, more than 100 passengers arriving from Sarjah were Su- FACT FILE 1,582 suspected 964 TOTAL SCREENED PASSENGERS and govern- isolation 147 131 98 to give a declaration by filling a form, which requires them to fill in their health status and that they are free of any disease or ailment. by the Ahmedabad Mu- nicipal Corporation (AMC) to screen the arriving international passengers. The passengers are also asked CHINA CHINA CHINA THAILAND AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND should sonal washing hands and cov- ering face while sneez- hygiene, like ing are very important to prevent the infection and people should Pandemic scare likely to hit tourism industry Two cases of possible COVID-19 infection Vipul Rajput tic travel is being hit with suspected cases of coronavirus disease being reported from Delhi, Rajasthan and Telenga- na. Within the country, Simla, Kullu-Manali, Panchgani, Mussoorie, the north-eastern states, and the southern region are popular summer destinations for travellers from Gujarat. Tour operators centre itineraries cen- tred around the national capital, especially for trips to the northern and north-eastern parts of the country . “Delhi is also a popular destination among foreign travellers and— unless proper measures are taken—could become a hotspot for the virus, making it unsafe for domestic travellers as well,” he added. While some people are changing First India News SPECIAL TRAINING Ahmedabad: With almost one lakh confirmed cases of coronavirus disease having been reported from as many as 82 countries, it is understandable that people aren’t too keen on travelling abroad right now. However, industry insiders say domestic tourism is also likely to be adversely affected to the tune of “crores of rupees.” Many Gujaratis travel abroad to destinations such as Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, In- donesia and Europe during the summer break. This year, several airlines have already cancelled flights to and from corona-affected destinations. Even if air travel is still possible, people Ahmedabad: Two people suspected to be infected by COVID19 have been admitted to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Pa- tel Institute of Medical Sciences and Research here on Wednesday evening. The patients are a man and a woman, both aged 60 years, and have recently returned from a trip to Japan. Doctors say both patients have displayed symptoms of coronavirus disease, and blood and other samples have been sent for testing. With this, Ahmedabad has seen three cases of suspected coronavirus disease in one day. A 23-year-old woman who recently returned from Singapore was admit- international bookings to domestic ones, several people are avoiding travelling altogether. Currently, domestic travel bookings are seeing cancella- tions of 15-20%, which is worrying. —Ashok Dhoot, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India commonly ted to the Civil Hospital on Wednesday. Howev- er, by evening, doctors said that her reports were negative for the virus. Further, principal secretary (health), Jayanthi Ravi has in- structed health workers in the state to identify at least one hospital with an isolation ward in each district. Operators say 15-20% domestic tour bookings have been cancelled. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI most here, this year’s domestic tour bookings are good. People seem to be preferring to stay within the country due to the corona scare across the world.” However, even domes- and hotels do not often offer refunds. Ashok Dhoot, Ahmedabad Chapter Chairman, As- sociation of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), says, “With the summer vacation al- owner of RHS Travel, says, “There is tremen- dous confusion in the travel industry as people are cancelling bookings and seeking a refund.” This is a problem for tour operators since airlines have started cancelling pre-booked avoid being exposed to the strain being called Covid19. Pankaj Gupta, President of the Tour Operator and Travel Agent Association and tours to GUP SHUP HITTING WHERE IT HURTS C the recent demand of the ruling party to pass a reprimand resolution against the Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani was not solely for making false allegations. Constant emphasis was given to the fact that the allegations received wide publicity in print and electronic media. What was evident from the ruling party’s demand was that the media attention the issue received did not sit well with them. Had Dhanani not rushed to media and try to tarnish the image of the present government, the corruption allegations would not have hurt much. Sucks to be the ruling party right now, huh? Our sympathies! NIGHT TERRORS H inspector from the western part of the city was on night-duty with a patrol team. Since he was accustomed to sleeping at night, he slept in the police van. It was then that a horn blaring from a car parked next to the van jolted the offi cer awake and made him furious. When the sub-inspector went to give a piece of his mind to the car driver, to his surprise, he discovered that the car belonged to a high-ranking police offi cer. Needless to say, the night-duty offi cer was soundly reprimanded by the offi cer the next day. WISHING FOR THE BEST I which Amitabh Bachchan praises the moustache of one of his staff members by saying, “Muchhein ho to Nathuram jaisi ho varna na ho.” In the fi lm, it was about the moustache, but in state capital Gandhinagar, the issue is about a chair. Apparently, a minister in the government has demanded a chair similar to the one used by the Chief Minister. According to him, “Kursi ho to CM jaisi ho varna na ho.” This has thrown members of the Road & Building department who cannot violate protocol and issue the chair reserved for either cabinet ministers or the CM. Some people just have to get their way, don’t you think? aving a regulated sleep cycle is essential for maintaining good health. But being a police offi cer on night-duty means functioning on next to no sleep. A sub- ounter-allegations between political parties are common. But n the 1984 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Sharaabi, there is a dialogue in 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 STAY IN YOUR LANE B raised by MLAs himself. It was this practice of his which annoyed Congress MLA Baldevji Thakor when he posed a question to one of the ministers regarding the payment of ghost labourers, under the MGNREGA scheme. Before the minister could respond, Desai interrupted which prompted Thakor to immediately shut him down by saying, “To answer questions, you have to be a minister, chief whip does not hold that power.” God, that must have burned! What’s more, even Speaker Rajendra Trivedi endorsed Thakor’s comment. Ouch! That must have hurt. JP chief whip Pankaj Desai has been managing the Assembly fl oor very well for the ruling party. But, he has developed a habit of answering questions

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 05, 2020 05 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia STATE POLICE GOING EASY ON TOBACCO CONSUMERS? More than two-thirds of police stations show no COTPA cases in 2019 Gargi Raval Foreign currency worth `3 lakh stolen from Colombian First India News Ahmedabad: Farhan Mith- iborawala, a resident of Shah-e-Alam, has lodged a complaint at the Navarang- pura police station, saying an unknown person stole $4,100 (approx. Rs3,00,927) from his Colombian friend’s bag. According to the complaint, Colombia’s Fannie Johanna arrived Ahmedabad with her friends Luis Alfonso and Marlene Arango on March 1 to purchase cloth. Unhappy with their hotel arrangements, Mithiborawala ranged for the Colombians to stay at the Radisson Blue hotel in Navrangpura. While shopping for cloth, the visitors had left their luggage in their hotel room. A few days after arriving in the city , Fan- nie, who had already done her shopping in the city, called up Mithiborawala saying that while she had $6,000 in her bag in the hotel, $4,100 had been stolen from it. A complaint was filed with Navrangpura police, who are investigating the case. WHAT IS COTPA? More Ahmedabad: than two-thirds of all police stations in the state did not file a single case under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 in 2019. According to information revealed in response to a query filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 99 of Gujarat’s 145 police stations in 26 districts reported zero cases under COTPA. The petition was filed by Ajaz Shaikh, an advocacy officer with the Insti- tute for Studies and Transfor mations, Ahmedabad, to gather data pertaining to the implementation of COT- PA in the state. “The response I got was shocking. At least 99 of the 145 police stations reported no cases, which Body of missing former deputy sarpanch found in then ar- states to include COTPA violations Monthly Crime Reviews (MCR) but hasn’t done so yet,” asserted Shaikh, who sub- mitted a memorandum request to then-police Commissioner AK Sin- gh, to ensure that the police enforce COTPA last year. took more than three months to respond,” added the advocacy officer. The Centre launched the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) to reduce tobacco use through the effective enforcement of COTPA and other preventive measures. “The NTCP directed all the ported in police stations attached to the Western Railway in Ahmedabad, which reported 1,957 cases in 2019. This was followed by Dahod’s railway police, which lodged 266 cases. Also, the re- sponses sent to me were not in accordance with the prescribed format and some police stations means no fines were collected for COTPA violations. A few police stations have reported cases in single digits. For instance, Valsad’s Kaprada police station filed only one case under COTPA in 2019,” said Shaikh. “On the other hand, the maximum number of violations were re- 32L fewer wage days under MGNREGA in their Gujarat Local police and the Directorate of Forensic Sciences have begun looking into the murder. First India News made it home. The search parties, which included local police and a dog squad, found the missing man’s motorcycle near the Bhrahmade- vi Temple at Sadak- pur village on Mon- day night. His bloody body was then found about 150m away from the bike and has been sent to the government hospital for post mortem. A team of sleuths under police inspector DK Patel have begun investigating the murder and have roped in the Di- rectorate of Forensic Science. Police sources said, “Prima facie evidence shows that the murder was the result of a personal dispute as the assailants did not take money from his pocket.” Surat: Two days after the former deputy sarpanch of Baman- wada village went missing, his corpse was found near Sad- akpur village Chikhli Taluka late Monday night. Police surmise Nilesh Patel (36) was killed due to a personal dispute since the assailants did not take any money from his pocket. However, the dead man’s cell- phone was not found on or near his body . According to Pa- tel’s family members, they filed a complaint with the police when he did not come home after work. Police officers say Patel, who worked at Sai Dairy, left his workplace around 8.30 pm on his motorcycle but never Constable fights with AMC officials Ahmedabad: A case has been filed against a police constable for allegedly quarrelling with AMC officials, threw his belongings outside his house. The civic body workers were removing illegal con- structions in Chaman- pura on Tuesday . Rake- sh Patni, who lives in the same area and works in Dariapur police station, was away when the process be- gan. When he returned, he was furious when he saw that his belongings were being taken out of his house. Gargi Raval of Due to a lack of vision and misman- agement, the Central Government has been unable to utilize the finest employment scheme in the country. There is a fund crunch in this scheme and we can see the result for ourselves. Over 32 lakh labour days were curtailed in the year 2019 as compared to 2018. —Manish Doshi, Chief Spokesperson, GPCC Gandhinagar: Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employ- ment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the state curtailed wages 32,17,568 days of labour in 2019 as compared with the previous year, the state government admitted to the House on Wednesday . In their response to Congress MLAs, the State admitted that due to cost-cutting in the MGNREGA scheme, the funds released by the Centre were less than that in 2018. “Due to a lack of vi- who for Surat district provided a total of 15,86,421 days of labour in 2018 which came down to 9,44,926 days in 2019. At 4,18,739, Kheda district in 2019 logged nearly half the human employment days recorded in 2018, which stood at 9,21,484. vate sector. And now, due to the indecisive- ness of the government over the economy, guar- anteed employment has been snatched away from people,” alleged Doshi. According to data shared in the Assembly, were curtailed in 2019 as compared with 2018,” said Manish Chief Spokesperson, Gu- jarat Pradesh Congress Committee. “The overall economic situation is grim. There was a recession- like situation in the pri- Seven senior citizens held for gambling, police seize almost `40,000 in cash sion and mismanage- ment, the Central Gov- ernment has been unable to utilize the finest employment scheme in the country. There is a fund crunch in this scheme and we can see the result for ourselves. Over 32 lakh labour days Doshi, FROM JACKET AND PG 1 Air India... Allowing 100 per cent investment by NRIs in the carrier would also not be in violation of Substantial Ownership and Effective Control (SOEC) norms. NRI investments would be treated as domestic investments. Under the framework, which is followed in the airline industry globally, a carrier that flies overseas from a particular country should be substan- tially owned by that country’s government or its nationals. Earlier, NRIs were allowed to acquire only 49 per cent in Air India. Foreign Direct Invest- ment (FDI) permit in the airline was also 49 per cent through the government approval route. As per the existing norms, 100 per cent FDI is permitted in scheduled domestic car- riers, subject to certain conditions, including that it would not be ap- plicable for overseas airlines.In the case of scheduled airlines, 49 per cent FDI is permitted through automatic approval route and any such investment beyond that level requires government nod. First India News Rajkot: The words “senior citizen” often conjure up images of people in rocking chairs, maybe a little bored after a life- time of activity . For seven senior citizens in Ra- jkot, their post-retire- ment years have brought, among other things, a police record. They were arrested for gambling, after police officers raid- ed a farm on receiving a tip-off. Most of those arrested are businessmen. The city’s SOEC QUICK VIEW playing for cash. They have been identified as Chagan Parsana, Jayanti Gadhiya, Pragji Parsana, Ravji, Purshottam, Dhi- rajlal and Popat Parsana. The police seized playing cards and cash to the tune of Rs39,970. branch received information about the illegal card game and broke up a game of “teen patti” at the farm of Chagan Shiv- abhai Parsana located behind Bharad Vishva Vidhyapith, where the seven elderly men were Indonesia keen... Saptono Rupani that in the G-20 summit, India’s Prime Minister and Indonesia President had agreed to strengthen bilateral re- lations between the two nations and take trade ties to 50 billion US dollars by 2025. To achieve the target set by two leaders trade investment has to increase on both sides expressed the consulate. comments came in the wake of Congress ac- cusing the BJP of holding captive MLAs, including Congress and independent lawmak- ers at a hotel in Guru- gram. Digvijaya Singh has accused BJP of resorting to horse-trading in order to bring down the Kamal Nath government. Singh has alleged that BJP has escorted four Madhya Pradesh MLAs, including three from his party, to Ben- galuru. “Last night, charter planes were booked by BJP to take MLAs to Bengaluru. One was a 9-seater plane while the informed crime Ahmedabad police becomes first in country to receive ISO certification First India News zation after scrutiny regarding its locally useful operating system and services. The certification comes almost years after then commissioner AK Singh applied for it, in 2018. Once the application went in, a nodal officer was appointed for each zone in the city and various criteria such as the status of different police stations, police functioning, law and order status, in- vestigation, crime de- tection and discipline were studied by the ISO consultant team and the nodal officer. Efforts have been made to make everyday procedures easier and more usable with the implementation of various criteria, police officials said. The Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad city police have become the first force in the country to receive certification from the International Organization Standardization (ISO). Police Commissioner Ashish Bhatia Tuesday accepted the ISO certificate, which is given to any organi- two Political turmoil... “We have a full ma- jority in the assembly which we have proved during the passage of budget and election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker,” he added. The Chief Minister’s for two on

PERSPECTIVE APPRECIATING THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING Training motivates, encourages and strengthens us to reach our highest potential 06 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 05, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia IN-DEPTH PANICKING WON’T HELP FIGHT COVID-19 C oronavirus scare in India is big- ger than its footprint but think of China where it has had a devas- tating effect after its complete isolation by Russia, Hong Kong, and other countries. Barring sending medical assistance, Indian tourists are also not looking at China as a destination as of now. Sev- eral airlines, including Air Canada, Ameri- can Airlines, Air France and Air India have stopped their flights to China. After India temporarily suspended visas to people from China, Iran, South Korea, and Ja- pan, the travel industry’s prospects in the near future look bleak as people avoid stepping out. The president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators summed it up succinctly, “Travel as a whole will be at a standstill for some time,” he was quoted as saying. Fear of being quarantined in a far off country is making people drop travel plans, even if it means cancellation of conferences. Tech gi- ants like Google, Facebook and Microsoft are also reported to have postponed their annual conferences and events. One can say that precaution is better than panic just as it is better than a cure. Postpon- ing travel plans and conference and wait for the worst to pass, is a sensible idea. But the manner in which there are reports of panic buying of masks and medicines shows how scared we are of the virus. Dr. David L. Katz, founder-director of Yale University’s Yale- Griffin Prevention Research Centre soothes this mortal fear in his article in the Middle: “If I get infected, how probable is it the disease will kill me? … Chances of dodging the coronavirus bullet are 99.6 percent.” In Wuhan, there have been just 2,800 deaths among the just under 79000 infected. That ratio yields a fatality rate of less than 4 percent, he wrote on February 28 to allay the concerns. This is more reassuring in the context of India where 28 cases have tested positive, of which 16 Italian tourists and an Indian driver have been quarantined. Six people from Agra suspected to “have a high viral load”, have also been quarantined at Safdarjung Hospital. The good part is that no coronavirus deaths have been reported as governments are now fully geared up to face the challenge. In Delhi, health minister Satyendar Jain said that the government was taking all possible steps to keep the city safe. “Isolation wards are being readied in 25 hospitals, including 19 government-run and six private hospitals,” he said. One area in which the new virus is proving to be critical is culture. In western countries, people are desisting from handshakes and rubbing of cheeks, in India ‘Namaste’ with palms joined has made a big comeback. Eat- ing habits too have undergone a drastic change, especially in China which has banned the sale and slaughter of several wild ani- mals. That’s positive. REKHA KUMAR The author is a personal development trainer, working with various government departments T he term, CHANGING TIMES describe what today’s genera- tion has been passing through. Change is normally not liked by many people. They find little pleasure in going contrary to their inclinations, to adjust to the unwanted changes. Change is inevitable. Unexpected events overtake us all. Most people thrive on routine, while change- whether good or bad, rattles their comfort zone. They prefer the old way of doing things, with a large measure of personal choice allowed. It would be unwise to con- clude that somehow one is an exception, that one will not be affected by the change. Some would like to influence you into such a frame of mind. They do not want you to be prepared. We can be on guard against any thinking that would discourage us from preparing for change and difficult tests ahead. To TRAIN means, to teach, to make one fit, qualified or proficient. It includes instruction, discipline and acquiring skills. It is continuous and never-ending in nature. Training motivates, encourages strengthens us to reach our highest potential. Just as physical exercise is profita- ble for bodily development, training of the mind is of far greater importance as it prepares us well for future challenges and competition. Good, ongoing training teaches resilience. It is an ability to adjust to a new circumstance and also to look at a seeming obsta- cle and see an opportunity in it. When we are born, our body is untrained. For example, a baby is barely able to perceive the orientation of its little limbs. So, a baby waves its arms ran- domly , even striking itself on the face, much to the baby’s own dis- may and surprise. Gradually through use, the body is trained. The baby crawls, the toddler walks and the child runs. But what about a gymnast? When us new ways of thinking and doing things. Training helps persons demonstrate right- fulness, fairness, and impar- tiality . It restrains them from becoming guilty of serious failure and to reflect proper attitude. Training provides the necessary assistance to the in- dividual to take the initiative to develop himself. We should be careful not to become self- satisfied with our achievement, but to press forward without let up. It is important to keep identifying and working upon deficiencies and not feel that any training or counsel is only for the begin- ners. In a fast-changing envi- ronment, all have to update their skills for their own as well as for the growth of the organization. By doing this, they can make their jobs more nurturing, validating and empowering. Can our training ever finish ….? No, Like an athlete who prepares to run different races throughout the year, we also need to continue training ourselves relent- lessly for the race of life. So let us ask ourselves- are we dodging our training? Are we avoiding it? To do so would be disastrous for us. Training for personal growth is training for life- a fulfilling, satisfying, peaceful and happy life. you see such an athlete vaulting and twisting through the air with exquisite grace and preci- sion, there is no question in your mind that the body is like a fine- ly tuned machine. The gymnast’s expertise did not come about by accident- countless hours of training were required. How much more valuable is the training of our powers of discernment, the strength- ening of our mind and heart, to cope with uncertainty and change, to learn to live and work peacefully with others, to discover our true potential and to find success, sat- isfaction, and meanin g in every moment of our existence. Certainly, training and higher standards of thinking is necessary if individuals and organizations want to succeed. We can be free from fears when we makeover our personalities through effective, useful and timely training. We will prove ourselves ready for a new life. A valuable treasure that re- mains buried in the ground serves no useful purpose. But this treasure has the potential for benefiting its possessor & even others. A similar case is with our hidden potential. Training helps it to be recognized and brought to the surface to be of help to ourselves and others. Therefore, as- To TRAIN means, to teach, to make one fit, qualified or proficient. It includes instruction, discipline and acquiring skills. It is continuous and never- ending in nature and similation and proper application of knowledge is essential for growth. Truly , when a treasure is used in a productive way , it becomes more valuable. Training prepares us now for future challenges. Suppose we are planning to move to another country, how could we prepare for that change? We might start learning the language of the people, learn about their cus- toms. We might sample some of their foods. To a certain extent, we would begin to live as if we are already residents of that land. Similarly , training teaches Training helps it to be recognized and brought to the surface to be of help to ourselves and others. Therefore, assimilation and proper application of knowledge is essential for growth Globalising the AI revolution in health care W The National Cancer In- stitute, for example, is preparing to launch the Child- hood Cancer Data Initia- tive, an ambitious ten-year project that will pool data from every pediatric and young adult cancer patient in the country to find new targets and mechanisms. the Susan G. Komen Foun- dation has launched its Big Data for Breast Cancer (BD4BC) initiative, which includes a project using algorith- mic analysis to tease out biological processes in some of the most difficult- to-treat breast cancers. Yet because these initia- tives use data gathered strictly from patient populations in the US, their ap- plicability is limited, par- ticularly at the global level. Human biology varies widely both within and between owing partly to genetic differences themselves influenced by environmental factors and other trends such as isolation, migration, historic disease burden, and the like. Sickle cell anemia, Ashkenazi genetic diseases, and cystic fibrosis are just three examples of the many diseases with popula- tion-specific correlations. These variations in indi- vidual physiology mean that what works for one subgroup may not work as well for another, and that we should cast the net for real-world data as widely as possible. Nonetheless, Europe has lagged behind the US in making anonymized real-world data available at scale. FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.COM populations, Real-world data includes any information that can help to guide new medical research. Some of it has been around for quite a while. For example, cancer researchers have long used anonymized health records to select patient candidates who are most likely to respond well to novel and experimental treatments. But other kinds of data have become available only recently, along with the technology for analyzing them at scale. The new capabilities offered by AI and related technologies raise compli- cated, sometimes contro- versial questions about privacy and data ownership. But we can meet these challenges by establishing comprehensive rules to safeguard personal information. Policymakers e are entering a transfor ma- tional period in medical ence, as tradi- that are sci- long-term tional research techniques combine with massive computing power and a wealth of new data. Just recently, Google nounced that it has developed an artificial in- telligence (AI) system capable of outperform- ing human radiologists in detecting breast cancer. And that is merely the latest example of how machine learning and big data are leading to new medical diagnostics, treatments, and discoveries. To realize AI’s enormous potential, however, we must develop a pragmat- ic and globally agreed approach to governing the collection and use of “real-world data.” treatment Similarly, an- already around the world and within global-govern- ance institutions must not delay. Medical science powerhouses are already forging ahead with real-world data ini- tiatives in the United States, where the wide availability onymized patient data is fueling a new wave of in- novation. Health authorities need to standardize guidance on real-world data collection and use, as well as establish international standards for sharing genomic research TOP TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp The amalgamation of 10 PSBs into 4 will bring greater synergies, enhance the reach of these banks and lead to cost benefi ts, which will enable Public Sector Banks to positively impact the domestic banking system with improved cost effi ciency and effective risk management. of an- G Vol 1 G Issue No. 100 GRNI 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

INDIA AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 07 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Slower than flu but more deadly: WHO CORONAVIRUS 16 OUT OF 24 PEOPLE WHO WERE SHIFTED TO QUARANTINE FACILITY IN CHHAWLA AND 17 INDIANS LIVING ABROAD HAVE TESTED POSITIVE ‘COVID-19 being hyped to divert attention from Delhi’ New Delhi: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has observed that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads less efficiently than the influenza or flu virus. However, the WHO also noted that the illness caused by COVID-19 is more severe than that of the flu. WHO Director-Gen- eral, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus “COVID-19 spreads less efficiently than flu, and transmission does not appear to be driven by people who are not sick, while in the case of influenza, people who are infected but not yet sick are major drivers of transmission.” The WHO is relying on data compiled on the virus to obtain a clearer picture of the situation as it unfolds. The WHO chief observed, “as we get more data, we are understanding this virus, and the disease it causes, more and more.” He added, “this virus is not SARS, it’’s not MERS, and it’’s not influenza. It is a unique virus with unique char- acteristics. Both COV- ID-19 and influenza cause respiratory disease and spread the same way, via small droplets of fluid from the nose and mouth of someone who is sick. However, some important differences between COV- ID-19 and influenza. Some countries are looking for cases of COVID-19 using surveil- lance systems for influenza and other respiratory diseases.” ‘Over half of MLAs taken hostage by BJP freed’ MADHYA PRADESH POLITICAL DRAMA Buniayadpur: Accus- ing the Centre of spread- ing panic about the spread of Coronavirus, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Ba- nerjee on Wednesday alleged that a section of the media was playing it up to deflect public attention from Delhi violence. ‘’Today a lot of people are shouting corona, corona, a bit too much. Yes. it is a disease, and the entire world is concerned. But don’’t make people panicky,’’ she said. ‘We don’’t want a single person to die in Bengal of the disease. The world is battling COVID -19 Novel Corona Virus. The countries & medical fraternity are jointly making efforts to contain its spread. Keeping this in mind, this year, I will neither celebrate Holi nor organise Holi Milan. Stay safe, Stay Healthy. — JP Nadda, BJP President noted, But do remember all those who died in Del- hi, did not die of coronavirus, dengue or swine flu. TMC will undertake a ‘BJP chi chi’ campaign in all blocks of West Bengal on Friday protesting against the “genocide” in Delhi,” she said. Rahul shourld take Coronavirus test as he returned from Italy: Bidhuri A tourist undergoes a screening test in wake of coronavirus, at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airpot, in Guwahati on Wednesday. Army Chief hopes for ‘virus-free seminar’ 25 suspected patients admitted to Safdarjung Hospital, 4 in RML istry on Tuesday confirmed six positive cases of the deadly Coronavirus ID-19) in India. Global deaths due to coronavirus outbreak on Monday rose above 3,000 with the new count in China main- land rising to 2,912. General Naravane. He was speaking at the Indian Army’s internal seminar with the theme ‘changing char- acteristics of land war- fare and its impact on the military’. The comments of the Army chief came after the Union Health Min- participants and dele- gates especially those who travelled abroad and far-flung parts of the country . We look forward to your perspective and views on the subject of great contemporary interest and I also hope that we have a virus-free seminar,” said New Delhi: While wel- coming participants at an event here, Army Chief General M M Naravane on Wednes- day expressed concern towards Coronavirus outbreak and said he hoped it is a “virus- free seminar”. “ A very welcome to all from (COV- New Delhi: At least 25 people suspected of coronavirus are admitted to Safdarjung Hospital here in the national capital, Health Ministry officials. Four more patients, who have been suspected of Coronavi- rus, are kept at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospi- tal, they said. Union Health Minis- ter Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said till now there are 28 cases of coronavirus in the country and added that universal screening of all international flights will begin to control the spread of the deadly virus. New Delhi: A day after Rahul Gandhi slammed Narendra Modi over Central government’s response to the deadly Coronavirus outbreak in India, Bharatiya Ja- nata Party (BJP) MP from Delhi Ramesh Bid- huri on Wednesday suggested that the former Congress president too must go through due process of COVID-19 quarantine and sample checking as he has recently returned from Italy. With total confirmed cases of Corona- virus reaching 2,036 and 52 deaths till Tues- day, Italy is the worst- hit country in Europe. said the 459 IN CRUISE SHIP SCREENED 17 Indians abroad tested positive for coronavirus: MEA 16 at ITBP’s Delhi facility test positive for COVID-19 459 passengers of the Italian luxury cruise ship ‘Costa Victoria’, which was docked in Kochi, were screened. “A total of 459 passengers disembarked out of which 305 are Indians. All passengers were screened for respiratory symptoms and fever,” said Jijo Thomas, PRO, Kochi Port Trust. tion in Lok Sabha said 16 cases were reported from onboard cruise ship Diamond Princess — and are now being treated at a medical facility in Ja- pan, while one Indian national tested positive in UAE. son, Vivek Pandey said: “16 out of 24 people who were shifted to ITBP quarantine facility have tested positive for Coronavi- rus. These people have been put in isolation. They are being monitored.” New Delhi: Seven- teen Indians living abroad have tested positive for novel coronavirus, said on Wednesday . Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan responding to a ques- New Delhi: Indo-Ti- betan Border Police (ITBP) on Wednesday said 16 out of 24 people who were shifted to its quarantine facility in Chhawla have tested positive for Coronavirus. ITBP Spokesper- there are MEA Will expose those trying to buy MLAs: Rathore The governments, which are not formed on princi- ples, meet this fate. They had formed the government by cobbling up numbers. The Kamal Nath government is not running on the basis on principle, programmes, policy and ideology but by managing numbers. —Gopal Bhargava, LoP, MP Assembly People of the state are worried. Cong MLAs themselves are also worried. It Kamal Nath ji is a strong person and the government will complete its term. BJP has always adopted this strategy where it does not let Opposition government work. BJP has always attempted to break the democratic system and values. —Ashok Chavan, Maharashtra PWD Minister former Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chou- han is the “master- mind” of the “conspira- cy” to bring down Ka- mal Nath-led government and asserted that there is no threat to government. “BJP wants to murder mandate and democracy. Modi talked about different kind of politics. So, this is his different politics. Different promises were made to MLAs. Rs. 50-60 crores are being offered to our MLAs. Where did they get this money? Some of our MLAs are in Ben- galuru but they are with us,” he said. —ANI Madhya Bhopal: Pradesh Minister BS Rathore on Wednesday said that Congress government will expose those who are “trying to buy party MLAs using black money” and will continue to rule the state for next five years. “Those involved in buying MLAs using black money, are the ones who are afraid that their corrupt practices will be exposed by the Congress government. But Congress government in Madhya Pradesh will run for 5 years. If needed, conduct a floor test,” Rathore said. Congress leader Jitu Patwari had alleged that Bhopal: Congress leader Shobha Oza on Wednesday said that more than half of the 8 party MLAs, who were allegedly taken hostage by BJP have been freed. She said: “BJP had held hostage our 8 MLAs in ITC Resort in Gurugram’s Manesar. More than half of them are released now.BJP took a few of them to Bengaluru. We will ensure their release too.” “From Day one, Mad- hya Pradesh Chief Min- ister Kamal Nath chal- lenged the BJP to show their strength through a floor test. But they did not dare to do so. Now, is their party’s internal matter and they level allegations against us. Their work is to level allegations. —Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ex-CM Madhya Pradesh There is no problem. We all are united. Kamal Nath will hold a BJP wants to murder mandate and democracy. Narendra Modi talked about different kind of politics. So, this is his different politics. Different promises were made to MLAs. Rs. 50-60 crores are being offered to our MLAs. Where did they get this money? Some of our MLAs are in Bengaluru but they are with us. —Jitu Patwari, Congress Leader Bharatiya Janata Party is putting all its force to bring down the Congress government. They are doing poaching politics. They are luring, threatening our MLAs. Wherever there are Congress- ruled government in Indian states, Bharatiya Janata Party is using all its power to break government. —Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Cong leader Narendra they are resorting to horse-trading in order to bring down the government,” she added. In 2018 Assembly results, Congress won 114 seats in the 230-member Assembly and formed government with the support of four Inde- pendent MLAs and two BSP MLAs and a legislator from the Sama- jwadi Party (SP). —ANI press conference in Bhopal today. There is no threat to the government. When we got to know, Jitu Patwari and Jaivardhan Singh went there. People with whom our contact was established were ready to come back to us. Digvijaya Singh, Cong leader GOVT: CHANDRAYAAN-3 TO BE LAUNCHED IN FIRST HALF OF 2021 New Delhi: India’s third moon mission, Chandrayaan 3, will be launched in the fi rst half of 2021, Union Minis- ter Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday. “The tentative launch schedule for Chandrayaan–III is the fi rst half of 2021. Chan- drayaan–III mission has been confi gured based on the lessons learned from JAVADEKAR SUGGESTS GREETING PEOPLE WITH ‘NAMASKAR’ New Delhi: UAmid concerns over the spread of coronavirus, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday suggested greeting people with “namaskar” as a way to minimise the risk of contracting it. ‘Nam- askar’, which is usually done with folded hands, is a traditional Indian way of greeting. The minister ‘GOVT RECEIVED PROPOSAL TO CHANGE WB’S NAME TO BANGLA’ New Delhi: MoS Home Nityanand Rai on Wednes- day said that the government has received a proposal regarding the change of name of West Bengal to “Bangla”. He said that the process will require a constitutional amendment, after taking all relevant factors into consideration. “During the period from January 1, 2017 to February 28, 2020, sixty seven proposals for change in the name of city/town/village were received. ‘No objection’ in respect to fi fty-two proposals have been issued to the State Government/Union Territory concerned. PAYTM EMPLOYEE IN GURUGRAM TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 Gurugram: An employee of Paytm has tested positive for novel coronavirus, the company said and advised its employees to work from home for a couple of days. Paytm spokesperson said, “One of our colleagues based out of Gurgaon offi ce who recently returned from Italy post a vacation has sadly been tested positive for coronavirus. He is receiving appropriate treatment and we are extending complete support to his family. As a precautionary measure, we have suggested his team members to get health tests done immediately.” Chadrayaan – II,” Singh said in a written response to a question in LS. ISRO is currently working on the Chandrayaan-3 project simultaneously with India’s fi rst manned lunar mission, Gaganyaan. In January, ISRO chairman K Sivan had told that the new mission will have a lander, rover, and a propulsion module. said that masks may not be needed every time and there is no one solution to the problem. “When it is to be used, everyone has to use... there is not a need. But cleaning hands properly, being careful when going to crowded places and the third is doing namaskar,” Javadekar said evoking smiles.

INDIA AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 08 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia SC: Fake news accounts root cause of riots Hear hate speech pleas on Friday, SC tells Delhi HC POWERGallery SANJAY MISHRA TO CONTINUE AS ED? Director Enforcement Sanjay Mishra will continue till his superannuation in year end. He is 1984 batch IRS (IT) offi cer. But just because there is no violence it does not mean that courts can give such long ad- journments." The apex court also sought the names of political who could talk to people to bring peace in the region. The top court also slated to hear on Friday the matter related to the speech given by petitioner Harsh Mander, in which he allegedly said that he doesn't have faith in the judici- ary, and sought a transcript of the video of the incident. Solicitor Tushar Mehta men- tioned the alleged video of Mander saying he is seen to have called on the people of India to streets for "real justice" and expressed no faith in the courts. —PTI New Delhi: A petition was filed in the Su- preme Court Wednesday seeking di- rections to weed out fake social media accounts claiming that they promote commu- nalism, radicalism, separatism, etc and is one of the root causes of riots and recent Del- hi violence. The special leave petition (SPL), filed by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay, is challeng- ing a Delhi High Court order dated December 9, 2019, pertaining to linking social media accounts with identity proof. Delhi High Court had dismissed the petition observing that to do a small good, by weeding out fake, ghost or dupli- cate accounts, the ma- jority of genuine ac- count holders data will New Delhi: The SC on Wednesday Delhi HC to hear on Fri- day the PIL filed by Delhi violence survivors seeking registra- tion of FIR against political leaders over their hate speeches, which allegedly led to the riots in the national capital. A bench of Chief Jus- tice SA Bobde also directed the High Court to hear on Friday other connected matter on the issue, which was adjourned till April, as an adjournment of the matters for a month was not justifiable and asked it to finish hear- ing in an expeditious manner. Taking up the High Court, CJI Bobde said, "Their prayer (petition- ers) to hear the matter on time is justified. In riots, violence cannot be curbed by courts. ANTI-SIKH RIOTS directed 19 IPS OFFICERS OF 2000 BATCH EMPANELLED AS IG IN GOL As many as 19 IPS offi cers of 2000 batch have been empanelled for holding Inspector General and equivalent posts in govt of India. The offi cers are: IB Rani and Meenu Choudhary of UT; Ganesh Kumar of Bihar; V Chandrasekhar of Gujarat; K Venkata Ramana of Haryana; Swayam Prakash Pani of J&K; Tarun Kumar of Kerala; Dr Suhas Madhukar Warke, Mrs Aswati G and Dr Chhering Dorje of Maharash- tra;Prateek Mohanty and Yatindra Koyal of Orissa; Dinesh Pratap Singh of Punjab; Naviyoti Gogoi, Umesh Chandra Datta, Lata Manoj kumar of Rajas- than; Ashwani Kumar Chand of Sikkim; Mrs Sonal V Misra of Tamil Nadu; KV Sreeesh of Tripura. on leaders SEVEN POSTAL OFFICERS OF 1999 BATCH EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOI As many as seven Indian Postal Service offi cers of 1999 batch have been empanelled for holding Joint Secretary and equivalent posts in government of India. They are: Amarpreet Duggal, Hena Usman, Pradeep Kumar, Joseph Lalrinsailova, Vennam Upender, Manisha Bansal, Raj Kumar Mishra. SC and High Courts, etc. These fake Twitter and Facebook accounts use real photos of constitutional authorities and eminent citizens and therefore, common man relies upon the messages from these Twitter and Facebook accounts, the plea said. —ANI fake twitter handles and bogus Facebook accounts in the name of eminent peoples and high dignitaries including the President of In- dia, Vice President of India, Prime Ministers of India, Chief Minis- ters, Cabinet Ministers, Chief Justice of India and the Judges of the be at stake. The petition said that while passing the im- pugned order the High Court failed to appreciate that presently a total number of Twitter handles in India are around 35 million. It said that the court also failed to appreciate that there are hundreds of HC disposes NHRC plea inquiry of 4 convicts BJP SLAMS KEJRI FOR DELAY IN NIRBHAYA KILLERS’ HANGING proper General published NINE ISS OFFICERS OF 1998 BATCH EMPANELLED AS JOINT SECRETARY IN GOI As many as nine Indian Statistical Service (ISS) offi cers of 1998 batch have been empanelled for holding Joint Secretary and equivalent posts. They are: Praksh C Lakhchaura, Reena Singh, Amitava Saha, KS Rejimon, Satyajit Paul, Dhrijesh Kumar Tiwari, Anuja Bapat, Arindam Modak and D Satish. KULDEEP SENGAR CONVICTED IN DEATH OF UNNAO VICTIMS’S FATHER immediately after the expiry of 30 days from the dismissal of their criminal appeals by the apex court in its order dated May 5, 2017. The four convicts were sentenced death by a trial court, a decision which was up- held by Delhi High Court and Supreme Court, for the gangrape and brutalising of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of De- cember 16, 2012. The woman had died at a Singapore hospital a few days later. —ANI New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the petitioner, who sought an enquiry and report about the health of convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, to approach the Na- tional Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for the same. A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Haris- hankar disposed of the petition saying that it is not maintainable adding that it sees no rea- son to entertain the petition. A public interest New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday convicted seven persons, including ex- pelled BJP MLA Kul- deep Singh Senger, and acquitted four others in connection with the custodial death of the father of Unnao rape victim. District and Sessions Judge Dharmesh Rana slated the arguments on quantum of sentence for March 12. The rape survivor's father died on April 9, 2018, in police custody. DEPUTATION TENURE OF MS CHOUHAN EXTENDED The central deputation tenure of Shivalli Malhotra Chouhan working as Director, Department of Expen- diture has been extended for a period of one year. She is a 1997 batch IDAS offi cer. to SK PANDA APPOINTED AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY Sanjay Kumar Panda, presently Consul General, Consulate General of India, San Francisco, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Turkey. He is an Indian Foreign Service offi cer of 1991 batch. of executing the death sentence of the four convicts. It said that the concerned authorities acted contrary to the law from not initiating the process to execute the death awarded to the convicts The PIL, filed by one A Rajarajan, sought di- rections to the NHRC to enquire and submit a report regarding the human rights violations committed by the concerned authorities entrusted with the job litigation (PIL) was on Saturday filed in the court seeking direc- tions to the commission to set up an enquiry about the physical and mental health of the four death row convicts in the case. Cabinet approves merger of 10 public sector banks into 4 entities SK GOEL APPOINTED DG, IRISET S K Goel presently working as PCSTE, Southern Railway has been posted as Director General, IRISET. He is an IRSSE offi cer of 1982 batch. sentence Lok Sabha approves Vivad se Vishwas Bill SANJAY SANTRITAYAN APPOINTED IG & DIR. RPF TRAINING CENTRE Sanjay Santritayan, presently posted as IG (Con.) in South Central Railway has been transferred to RPF Training Centre, Moula-Ali South Central Railway and posted as IG and Director. He is an IRPFS offi cer. New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Bill, 2020 which provides for dispute resolution related to direct taxes. The bill was passed amid din in the House over the opposition’s demand for an immediate discussion on Delhi violence. The clause-by-clause consideration of the bill was taken up on Tues- day amid ruckus in the House over the opposition’s demand. However, it was not passed as the House was adjourned due to unruly scenes. Meenakshi Lekhi, who was in the Chair, took up the remaining clauses of the bill when the House assembled at 2 DELHI VIOLENCE CABINET APPROVES 72 CHANGES AMENDING COMPANIES ACT New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the merger of 10 public sector banks (PSBs) into four entities, aimed at having fewer but stronger lenders in India. “Banks have submit- ted the scheme of amalgamation, which the Cabinet has approved today ,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters, adding that every bank service will remain intact after the merger. The date of implementation of the merger is 1 April. In August, the finance ministry had announced the consolida- ICD TENURE OF RAHUL RANJAN MAHIWAL TO BIHAR EXTENDED The inter cadre deputation (ICD) tenure of Rahul Ranjan Mahiwal from Maharashtra to Bihar has been extended for a further period of two years beyond April 9, 2020. He is a 2005 batch IAS offi cer of Maharashtra cadre. New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sithara- man on Wednesday said the Cabinet has approved 72 changes amending 65 sections of the Companies Act, to decriminalise these sections. Sitharaman said 33 offences to be the cat- egorised out of 66 compoundable offences to be fi t for in-house adjudica- tion. It also also removed seven compoundable offences. The Cabinet limited punishment for 11 compoundable offences to fi nes while removing imprisonment. JUSTICE SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD TRANSFERRED AS ADDL JUDGE OF DELHI HC The Law Ministry has transferred Justice Subramo- nium Prasad, Additional Judge of the Madras High Court as an Additional Judge of the Delhi High Court. will be between Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank, which will make it the fourth-largest public sector lender, while Union Bank of India will be merged with Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank to build India’s fifth-largest lender. —ANI tion of 10 public sector lenders. Punjab Nation- al Bank (PNB), Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and United Bank will be brought together to form the second largest public sector bank in the country, after State Bank of India (SBI). The other merger A P SUNDARARAJAN POSTED AS JT GM , IRCTC (TOURISM), CHENNAI A P Sundararajan presently posted as PPS, Railway Board has been selected for deputation to IRCTC as Joint General Manager (Tourism) at Chennai. pm following two ad- journments earlier. The bill was passed by a voice vote amid slogan-shouting by opposition members. —ANI TECHNICAL SNAG FORCES ISRO TO POSTPONE LAUNCH OF GISAT-1 Bengaluru: Owing to technical reasons, the launch of India’s fi rst Geo Imaging Satellite-1 (GISAT-1) scheduled for March 5 evening has been postponed, the ISRO announced on Wednesday. “The launch of GISAT-1 onboard GSLV-F10 (Geosynchro- nous Satellite Launch Vehicle-F10), planned for March 05, 2020, is EXPECT PROTESTORS TO COME UP WITH AMICABLE SOLUTIONS New Delhi: Sanjay Hegde, one of the two interlocutors appointed by the SC to hold talks with protesters at Shaheen Bagh area to convince them to hold the agitation at an alternative site, said that they expect the protestors to come up with amicable solutions. “We urged them to understand their role as responsible citizens under SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR MAHA COPS WHO NABBED KASAB Mumbai: In a belated move, the Maharashtra govt has decided to give a special promotion to 14 police offi cers and policemen who helped nab Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab alive, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Wednesday. Deshmukh told the Assembly that the 14 police offi cials who have already been given various honours have now been given one step out-of- turn higher promotion in their respective current posts. The minister’’s reply came to a question raised by Shiv Sena legislator Sunil Prabhu. CABINET APPROVES IIIT AMENDMENT BILL New Delhi: The Cabinet chaired by Prime Min- ister Narendra Modi has approved to confer fi ve of the Indian Institute of Information Technology with the Institute of National Importance status. The IIIT’s which will be given the Institute of National Importance status include the Indian Institute of Information Technology Surat Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala, and Raichur. These institutions will now be able to use the Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) or the Master of Technology (M.Tech) or the Ph.D degree. postponed due to technical reasons. Revised launch date will be informed in due course,” ISRO said. The space agency said GISAT-1 would provide real time image of large area of region of interest at frequent intervals. It will also enable quick moni- toring of natural disasters, episodic events and any short term events. the constitution and fi nd solutions keeping in mind other fellow citizens,” Hegde’s statement read. The protesters, according to Hegde, were made aware of the fact that the team of interlocutors would be readily available to them “whenever they are collectively ready with any possible resolution of the current situation.”

SPORTS AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 09 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia in It’s show time for women in blue BRIEF Asian event shifted to Philippines Mumbai: The Badmin- ton Asia Champion- ships will go ahead next month after it was shifted to the Philippines from China, organisers said on Wednesday, bringing cheer to shut- tlers worried about Olympics qualification amid the coronavirus outbreak. The coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, has spread around the world, with more new cases now India finished on top of Group A, winning all 4 group games, while England finished behind SA in Group B England has been India’s biggest nemesis in T20 WC. India lost 2009 group stage match to Eng by 10 wickets Sydney: The Indian team, who have been undefeated so far in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup, will face a daunting task against England when they take on 2009 champions in the first semi-final at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday . England have been India’s biggest nemesis in T20 World Cups. The Women in Blue lost the 2009 group stage match appear- ing outside China than within it. to Eng- land by 10 wickets; did not get a chance to play in 2010 due to different pools but India lost that semi-final against Aussies; lost 2012 group stage against England by 9 wickets; 2014 group stage match by 5 wickets; and the last edition of 2018 was even more hurting for Team India as England defeated the list of leading run- getters in the competition followed by Eng- land’s Natalie Sciver and Heather Knight. Shafali is also the youngest player to get back Player of the Match awards having maximum impact on the entire performance of the team ably sup- ported by Deepti and Jemimah who gener- ously rotate strikes.—PTI ping up the group stage with a 7-wicket victory against Sri Lanka, In- dia will enter the semifinals with sky-high confidence. Batting for India has been outstanding with Shafali Verma’s better- ing scores and posture in each game. With 161 runs in four matches and a batting average of 40.25, the 16-year-old is on the third position in them by 8 wickets in the semi-final stage. However, in the recent tri-series before the World Cup, India had managed to defeat England and thus would want to take confidence from that win in Thurs- day’s game. With a win over fa- vourites Australia by 17 runs, Bangladesh by 18 runs, New Zealand by just 3 runs and wrap- Chelsea dump Liverpool London: Chelsea prevailed 2-0 over Premier League champions-in-waiting Liverpool to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup and smash the Reds’ hopes of winning the treble. Jurgen Klopp’s men suffered their third loss in four outings, though Liver- pool were better than in last weekend’s shocking Premier League defeat to Watford, reports Efe news. And while mistakes by Reds backup goalkeeper Adrian were a major factor on Tues- day at Stamford Bridge, it was Chelsea’s solid performance that deter- mined the outcome. Teenage Indian batting sensation Shafali Verma on Wednesday rose to the top spot in the ICC women’s T20 International rankings, riding on her stellar run at the ongoing World Cup here. The 16-year-old Verma takes over from New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, who had been the top batter since October 2018 after wresting the spot from West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor. However, Smriti Mandhana has slipped a couple of rungs to sixth in the latest list. Verma and England spin- ner Sophie Ecclestone will go into the semifinals of the event as the top ranked batter and bowler respectively. India will take on England on Thursday. Verma’s explosive batting at the top of the order saw her score 161 runs in four innings, including knocks of 47 and 46 against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. It helped her become only the second India batter after Mithali Raj to top the women’s T20I batting rankings, according to an ICC statement. Teen sensation Shafali rises to top in ICC women’s T20 rankings Jenil cues another victory on Day 5 Ahmedabad: The Sports Club of Gujarat complex was witness to the maximum break possible in the shorter version of the snooker sport even as the fifth day of the thirteen days competition was com- pleted. Gujarat player Jenil Patel continued with another fine performance from where he left it yesterday, to nose out Veteran UP player, Kan Shamsi on the very last black ball in another match. With the close affair tied at 3-3 frames, both players were involved in a tense battle of attrition before Jenil kept his nerve at a crucial juncture to sink the decisive black and win by 16-70, 34-19, 37-18, 35-46, 44-15, 32-39 and 41-40 points. —PTI Glitzy IPL slashes prize money in cost-cutting drive IPL PRIZE MONEY: 2019 VS 2020 Manush clinches Chess C’ship title Sakshi advances to quarters of boxing Amman (Jordan): For- mer junior world champion Sakshi Chaudhary (57kg) stunned Asian silver-medallist fourth seed Nilawan Te- chasuep of Thailand to enter the quarterfinals of the Asian Olympic Qualifiers for boxing here on Wednesday . The two-time youth world champion Indian Sakshi Chaudhary, who is only 19, prevailed in a split verdict against the Asian Games bronze- medallist in an engross- ing bout. Sakshi Chaudhary will next be up against Korea’s Im Aeji on March 9. Making the semifinals would assure her of a spot in the Tokyo Olympics scheduled in New Delhi: The BCCI has decided to imple- ment cost cutting measures with the notable decision being 2020 champions’ prize money will be halved as compared to 2019. In a circular sent to all IPL franchises, the BCCI has notified that in- stead of a whopping Rs 20 cr, the IPL champion team will now receive Rs 10 cr only . “The financial re- wards have been re- worked as a part of cost cutting measures. The runners-up will get Rs 6.25 cr from earlier Rs 12.5 cr,” a BCCI notifica- tion, in possession of PTI, read. The two losing qualifiers will now get Rs 4.375 crore each.“The and IPL WINNER 20 cr WINNER 10 cr RUNNER UP 12.5 cr RUNNER UP 6.25 cr First India News Karan Trivedi, and An- kit Chudasama stood on 3rd, 4th, and 5th position respectively with 7 pt. each. Final results are as under: Manush Shah (7.5 pt), Karatavya Anadkdat (7.5 pt), Joy Pankaj Shah (7 pt), Karan Trivedi (7 pt), Ankit Chudasama (7 pt). Total cash prize of Rs 75,000 was awarded to first 20 winners along with medals for all U-13 players. Ahmedabad: A Chess tournament was organ- ised by the Gujarat State Chess Association in association with V Popular. In the final round of the match between Manush and Kar- tavya ends with a draw and Manush got 7.5 pt at the end of the tournament. Kartavya Anad- kat stood on 2nd position with 7.5 pt. also while Joy Pankaj Shah, Shooting WC to have no ranking points New Delhi: Due to local restrictions relating to the COVID-19 virus introduced by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India, the organizers of ISSF World Cup in New-Delhi cannot guarantee the par- ticipation of all athletes who would like to enter those competitions, said the ISSF in a statement. July-August this year. The opening round was fought on even keel for most part but Sakshi Chaudhary managed to be ahead of her fancied rival in a split verdict. Techasuep came out all guns blazing in the second round caught Sakshi off-guard with a barrage of com- bination punches. chises and BCCI con- tributing Rs 50 lakh each. It has also been learnt that mid-level BCCI ees won’t be allowed to avail business class flights like earlier times for flying to the Asian countries where the flying time is less than eight hours. franchises are all in good health. They also have multiple ways like sponsorships to bolster their income. Hence the decision on prize money taken,” a senior BCCI source said. However, a state association hosting IPL games will get Rs 1 crore each with fran- Manish employ- and straight —Agencies —PTI RANJI TROPHY UNADKAT LEADS SAURASHTRA TO SECOND SUCCESSIVE FINAL First India News It was a perfect match but we lost the match at the crucial stage. Saurashtra kept its stake on the Crucial Moment and won the match by winning a small Mo- ment. On the fifth day, we hoped we could chase the target, but we couldn’t execute our plan in an important moment. Resuming on seven for one, the visitors lost their second wicket on the same score. Unad- kat struck early as he removed Samit Gohil (5), who was caught at second slip. Unadkat had his third scalp when took a return catch to send back Dhruv Raval (1). Guja- rat were in trouble at 18 for three. Parthiv held one end up and then found an allay in Chirag as the visitors took lunch at 105 for five. had resumed the day at seven for one. They were down and out at 63 for five before captain Parthiv Patel (93) and Chirag Gandhi shared a 158-run stand to raise hopes of an im- probable win. However, Unadkat removed both the set batsmen to fashion a memorable win for his team. Saurashtra will host Bengal in the final from March 9. Saurashtra had lost last year’s title clash to Vidarbha. Rajkot: Saurashtra en- tered their second successive Ranji Trophy final with a 92-run win over Gujarat on day five of their semifinal here on Wednesday . Saurashtra captain and lead pacer Jaydev Unadkat led from the front with a seven-wicket haul as Gujarat were bowled out for 234 in the final session on day five. Chasing 327, Gujarat (96) —Parthiv Patel The match was changing in each session, but we knew that the match could come in our favour. However, we knew that after a tea break, a rhythm break could happen to batsmen and so on. During the break especially the energy I was getting was found and the match came in our favour. —Jaydev Unadkat

Sometimes the only power you will have is to be optimistic and hopeful and it will be enough. —Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India 2NDFRONT 10 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 05, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Cong demands CM Rupani’s resignation over infant deaths Maximum no. of infants (4,322) died in Amit Shah’s parliamentary constituency: Surjewala Cong stages walkout as speaker skips question Gandhinagar: gress Wednesday staged a brief walkout from the Assembly in protest against the Speak- er’s decision to curtail a discussion on crop insurance following “disturbance” created by a party MLA. Unhappy over Speak- er Rajendra Trivedi’s decision to cut short the reply of Agriculture Minister R C Faldu on a query regarding pend- ing crop insurance dis- bursement during Ques- tion Hour, around 70 legislators of the opposition party , led by senior leader Shailesh Parmar, walked out of the House. Responding to a question by Shiva Bhuria (Congress), Faldu told the House that 648 farmers of Banaskantha dis- Con- on ‘GOVT ENSURING CROP DAMAGE PAYMENTS’ MLAs A government was trying all out to ensure that the farmers get crop damage related payments from insurance companies. He alleged that main opposition Congress which boycotted Question Hour and walked out of the Assembly, had nothing to do with farmer’s interests. It had done so to avoid the embarrass- ment the party would have to face due to allegations leveled by its leader Dhanani in connection with the tablet purchased by the state government. Talking to mediapersons at Assembly premises, Faldu said that despite a good yield of agri produces last year, state government had pressurised the insurance companies to pay Rs 2,776 crore of insurance money to the farmers in the state. griculture Minister RC Faldu said that state inh Gohil said there are guidelines for sick newborn care units like two newborns should be three metres apart so that infection does not spread. “But when we visited these centres, we saw babies being put next to one another,” he said. Gohil hit out at PM Modi and Home Amit Shah for not show- ing “sensitivity” towards the issue. The second most number of infant deaths are from Rajkot from where Chief Minis- ter Vijay Rupani was elected to the Assembly . The chief minister has no right to stay on in the post and he should re- sign, Gohil said. New Delhi: The Con- gress on Wednesday attacked the BJP government in Gujarat over the death of over 15,000 infants during treatment at newborn care units across the state in the last two years and demanded Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s resignation over the issue. Responding to a set of questions raised by Con- gress MLAs in the Guja- rat Assembly on Tues- day , Deputy Chief Minis- ter Nitin Patel, who also holds the Health portfo- lio, said that out of the 1.06 lakh infants admitted to such units during 2018 and 2019 across the state, 15,013 babies died Rajendra Trivedi Will the cries of babies be heard? Will anyone raise questions? Will the TV media show courage? Randeep Surjewala, Congress’s chief spokesperson trict were yet to be paid compensation under the crop insurance scheme. When Faldu was giving his answer, Lalit Kaga- thara (Congress) clapped in a satirical manner, which irked Trivedi. Trivedi asked the minister to stop read- ing his answer, saying he can not allow any “disturbance”. He then moved to next question, prompting MLAs to leave the House in protest as they want- ed to discuss crop insurance issue in detail. Minister during treatment. These deaths were reported from sick newborn care units set up in almost all districts of the state. On Wednesday, Con- gress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Sur- jewala held the BJP cy ,” he said in a tweet. “Will the cries of babies be heard? Will anyone raise questions? Will the TV media show courage?” Surjewala asked. Speaking with reporters outside Parlia- ment, spokesperson Shaktis- ‘Two-wheeler sales likely to fall 10% next fiscal’ First India News cial year. President of the Two-Wheeler Dealer Association Gujarat (TDAG) Pranav Shah on Wednesday ad- dressed the press on the sidelines of the first state-level conference of the association. He said that even though BS 6 fuel the overall mileage by government responsible for these deaths. “15,013 died. Everyday 20 infants are dying. The maximum number of infant deaths -- 4,322 -- in Ahmedabad. This is Amit Shah’s parliamentary constituen- infants Congress Congress Dandi March anniversary: Cong to take out ‘pad yatra’ New Delhi: The Con- gress party is planning to take out a ‘pad yatra’ (foot march) to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s iconic Dandi March. The ‘yatra’ from Gu- jarat’s Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi is slated to be held from March 12 to April 6. Speaking about the ‘pad yatra’, Gujarat Con- gress president Amit Chavda said: “Congress party will commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Dandi March by taking out a march starting from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi. Our interim president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Chief Ministers of the Con- gress-ruled States and senior party leaders will take part in the march.” According to sources, Congress leaders had held discussions in portunity to reflect on LOP reprimand issue brings out differences within CLP Haresh Jhala almost 10%, it would negatively affect sales growth. Annual sales of two-wheelers in Guja- rat, which was at around 17 lakh units in 2017-18 fell to about 14.5 lakh units in 2018-19. It is likely to decline further, to 12.3 lakh units in 2019-20. With the implementation of the directive on BS-VI fuels due next fiscal, it would further come down by 10%. Moreover, with the implementation of 5 years of compulsory insurance, vehicle costs are also likely to increase by Rs4,000. Ahmedabad: With the government nouncing that only BS-VI fuels are to be used beginning April 1 to curb pollution, industry insiders say two-wheeler sales are likely to fall another 10% in the next finan- an- would help curb pollution and even increase Pagi goes missing, leaves suicide note TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT the present vicious en- vironment around the country , say sources. The meeting held on Tuesday was attended by Congress leaders Priyanka Vadra, KC Venugopal, Ahmed Patel, Shakti Singh Gohil, Randeep Surjewala, Siddharth Patel, Amit Chawda, Bharat Singh Solanki, Madhusudhan Mistry, Deepinder Singh Hoo- da, Paresh Dhanani, Arjun Morwadiya, Lalji Chawla, Jitender Pras- ad and others. —ANI PREZ SPEAK First India News fought the assembly elections. He said the MLA had created several fake cases against him. After Pagi went missing, his family and local villagers rushed to Shahera police station and shouted slogans against the MLA and the police. Police NM Prajapati said, “A search is on for Pagi. It seems he went missing due to family issues.” Ahmedabad: A Con- gress leader, Rangit Pagi from Shahera, Panchamahal, Wednesday missing, leaving a suicide note alleging that BJP MLA Jetha Bharvad and officers from various departments were harassing him. His note Bharvad was harassing him ever since he Gandhi on went Inspector this regard during their meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday . The occasion will be an op- CAA supporters staged a protest at Income-Tax Circle in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. With this, the infamous “Goli maro gaddaro ko” slogan, which originated in New Delhi, has reached the city. claimed —PHOTO BY NANDAN DAVE Assembly rebukes LOP for ‘false’ corruption allegations MISTAKES Gandhinagar: It is the first time in recent history that the State As- sembly passed a resolution reprimanding Leader of the Opposi- tion Paresh Dhanani. The episode brought out the ego clash and differences between Congress Leg- islative Party (CLP) leaders and a strategic mistake of Dhanani. It was visible from the front row that the CLP is not united and that there was poor coordination between the leaders. In the tablet issue, when Dhanani made corruption allegations against the government on February 27, it was a bolt from the blue for many Congress MLAs. This clearly in- dicated that he had not discussed or taken at least senior MLAs into confidence. As a result, First India News tions. This cannot be pardoned.” He urged Speaker to pass the reprimand resolution to set an example. CLP’s Deputy Lead- er Shailesh Parmar and senior MLA Punja Vansh Speaker and BJP to put off the resolution for a day , till Paresh Dhanani returns. The request was opposed by Parliament Affairs Min- ister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and even Jadeja. Before taking up the resolution, the Speak- er asked CLP’s Deputy Leader twice whether Dhanani has asked him to tender an apology on his behalf. When he re- plied in the negative, the Speaker decided to pass the resolution. al, Minister of State for Parliamentary Af- fairs Pradipsinh Jade- ja stated, “On Febru- ary 27, LoP made an allegation of Rs 164 crore corruption against government in tablet purchase. The price he was citing of Rs 1,408 was only for tablet’s monitor. By making such an allegation, he has tried to tarnish image of an honest and sensible government, that has zero tolerance wards corruption.” He said, “Dhanani wished to defame government. Assembly is a temple of democracy and it must be respect- ed. One can’t get away by speaking lies and making false allega- Gandhinagar: State Assembly on Wednes- day passed a resolution reprimanding LoP Paresh Dhanani for making “baseless corruption tions.” Proposal was moved by ruling BJP . Passing the resolution, Speaker Rajendra Trivedi observed, “The LoP could not substanti- ate corruption allegations made by him, though adequate time was given to him. I am in agreement with reprimand resolution and this decision will set an example for all MLAs before they make false allegations without evidence in the House.” Moving the propos- has allega- requested When he was cornered by the BJP , he was fighting all alone. Two other senior leaders, Deputy Leader Shailesh Par- mar and senior MLA Amit Chavda, who is also GPCC President, did intervene but their attempts could only briefly delay the resolution. As Speaker Ra- jendra Trivedi served, it was like “putting off today’s death to tomorrow”. The resolution was passed and the Opposi- tion benches remained silent. The rebuke was not just for Dhanani but his entire party. The Congress leaders may deny any differences between them, but the reality is visible. many of them remained mute spectators. Dhanani had apparently rushed with allegations without doing proper homework and this boo- meranged on him. The second mistake he made on Tuesday was not to accept the Speaker’s ruling that he had failed to give an expla- nation while he want- ed replies from the treasury Had Dhanani accept- to- benches. ed r uling, matters w o u l d the ANALYSIS have died down but his adamant attitude cost him dearly . ob-

www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia 11 AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY MARCH 5, 2020 15 YRS OF ‘SRI’ S in Tamil, Tamannaah managed to acquire a distinct vibe as a star and as an actress. Ap- pearing as a college student in both films, she chose the route of being a performance-orient- ed stars who had no qualms donning a no make-up look. It was then that the audience re- alised the fresh-faced Taman- naah was here to stay and slay . Tamannaah did make an at- tempt to shift to Bollywood with films such as ‘Himmat- wala’ opposite Ajay Devgn and ‘Entertainment’ opposite Ak- shay Kumar, but the Mumbai born actress of Sindhi-descent found more quality and con- tent down South. The decision to work in South Indian films paved way for something more significant. STYLE WITH SENSITIVITY THE SECOND-DAY OF JAIPUR COUTURE SHOW 2020 CONCLUDED WITH A BANG WHILE PRESENTING A SPECIAL SEQUENCE ON ACID ATTACK SURVIVORS outhern superstar Ta- mannaah made her debut exactly 15 years ago yesterday, with the Hindi film ‘Chand Sa Roshan Chehra’. The film tanked, but the 15-year-old Tamannaah would go on to make her debut in the South Indian industry later the same year with the Telugu film ‘Sri’. The audience loved the budding teenager’s innocence and charm, and there has been no looking back since. Over the last decade and half, she has scored several hits and memorable performances. However, her real turning point had happened in 2007. With releases such as ‘Happy Days’ in Telugu and ‘Kallori’’ —IANS Tamannaah Bhatia —PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO KIRTI CHAUHAN kirti.chauhan@firstindia.co.in T he seventh edition of Jaipur Couture Show 2020 concluded on Wednesday evening at Hotel Jaipur Marriott. On the second day of the two-day event, Bolly- wood actors Tanna and ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ fame actress Suzanne Bernert, along with the actor Charvi Tanya Dutta, Femina Miss India finalist Aditi Hundia, Divya Kasliwal, Aarti and Ishika hotri, were the centre of attraction at the show. Karishma Charvi Tanya Dutta Jagdeesh Chandra was the Chief Guest on the closing day of the Jaipur Couture show on Wednesday at Marriott. Daria Farkas, Swati Jangid, Mona Gautam, Akanksha Bhalla, Ranu Shekhawat and Gaurav Gaur (from left) from team JCS presented him with a memento to convey their gratitude. Agni- T a n n a , donning a traditional bridal outfit designed by the celeb- rity fashion designer Mohit Fal- od, sizzled on the ramp as the show- stopper for the brand Daaman. Suzanne Bernert posing with acid attack survivors and models on the ramp during the show During the 2-day show, 16 designers, two national fashion designers from Fashion De- sign Council of India (FDCI), four celebrities, four Femina Miss India fi- nalists two TV ac- tresses shim- mered with glamour on the runway . signer Vandana Katra from Singapore showcased the Partywear Collection in another sequence. Designer Su- mit Goyal from Kota presented the cocktail collection, while designer Chhabra from Label Danj showcased party wear dresses with a traditional touch. In the finale round of the show, FDCI Council member Anupama Dayal from Delhi impressed everyone with her Ethnic-Indian Combo Collec- tion. In a special sequel dedi- cated to Acid Attack Survi- vors, designed by the makeover brand Hashtag Blunt, Suzanne along with the acid attack survivor and Social Activist Soniya Chaudhary walked the ramp to deliver a social message. While giving a western touch to Khadi fabric, Jaipur- based fashion designer Far- ah Ansari, presented Khadi Jackets, dresses and western wears during a sequel, wherein International De- Rashmi and Karishma Tanna Models posing on the ramp during the fashion show

HOLLYWOOD 12 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 Back on the track! www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia The ‘Shining’ star! A S the way . “Couldn’t keep it a secret any long- er!!! My new single #ILoveMe is out on Friday ,” the singer captioned a photo on Instagram. In January, a source had said the 27-year-old “has been working very hard on new music since last year.” The source added: “She has spent several months of 2019 in the studio and is still finalising her album to this day . She has put so much effort into it, and it is going to be the most vulnerable album she has put out. Demi hopes to have the album by Summer, Fall at the latest.” “Demi will be expressing her strug- gles through sobriety, rehab and will address the overdose in her own crea- tive way,” the insider added. merican actor Courteney Cox has been tapped as the lead in Starz’s horror-comedy pilot ‘Shining Vale.’ The pilot reu- nites her with creator Jeff Astrof, who worked on ‘Friends’ in its early seasons. “As Starz continues to expand its slate of original comedy series, we are incredibly proud to bring a tal- ented actress such as Courteney Cox to the network to top-line ‘Shining Vale’. Her previous success in the genre combined with her well-honed comedic chops make her the ideal actor to bring Pat to life,” said Jeffrey Hirsch, president and CEO of Starz. According to the reports, Court- eney will star as Patricia ‘Pat’ Phelps, who moves with her family from the city to a small town in which terrible atrocities have happened. No one else seems to notice except Pat, who is convinced she’s either depressed or possessed. The half-hour, horror-comedy show is executive produced by Hor- gan and Clelia Mountford via Mer- man alongside Astrof through his Other Shoe Productions and Kapi- tal’s Kaplan and Dana Honor. And Dearbhla Walsh will direct and exec produce the pilot. inger Demi Lovato, who hasn’t released an album since 2017’s ‘Tell Me You Love Me’, has announced that her new song is on —IANS —ANI Courteney Cox Demi Lovato Bradifer Reunited! Hutton: Culprit or Victim? O tion of raping a teenager in 1983. In a statement released by Hutton on Monday , he said: “For the past two-and- a-half years, I have been the target of multiple extortion attempts by a woman named Sera Dale John- ston to extract millions of dollars from me.” “She threatened that if I did not meet her demands, she would go to the press with a false allegation that I sexually assaulted her 37 years ago in J Canada. I never assaulted Ms Johnston,” the ‘ Almost Family’ actor continued. “What’s really going on here is that Ms Johnston’s extortion attempts failed. She then decided to follow through on her threat to go to the press with her false story . When I became aware of this, I went to the FBI, signed a sworn statement, and filed a criminal complaint against Ms Johnston for extortion. I will not stop fighting to expose this story for what it is — a failed extortion at- tempt based on something that never happened.” Hutton concluded. scar-winning actor Timothy Hut- ton has strongly denied the accusa- ing the awards season. Howev- er, a new report claims that Jen and Brad have not only reunited romantically but are also adopting a baby together. Apparently, the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star and the Friends alum are preparing to welcome a baby girl. They reportedly just have some papers to sign before they welcome the baby girl home. “They’ve been talking about adopting a little girl. Starting a family of their own was always a dream of theirs that was never realized. Until now. They can’t wait to finally bring their baby home. It’s a miracle!” the source said. ennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt have reportedly decided on adopting a baby girl together. A source claims the reunited couple’s adoption has Jolie-Pitt kids excited. They broke the internet with their reunion at SAG Awards and now, it has been reported that Jennifer An- iston and Brad Pitt are adopting the baby together. Before dive deep into the story, we’d suggest you take this story with a pinch of salt. As we all know it, Brad has reaffirmed that Jen is a good “friend” dur- Timothy Hutton Brad Pitt with Jennifer Aniston —Agency —ANI FACE OF THE DAY YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva ARIES MAR 21 - APR 20 TAURUS APR 21 - MA Y 20 GEMINI MA Y 21 - JUNE 21 CANCER JUNE 22 - JUL Y 23 Your spouse will give you special treatment today for all your love and sincerity. Overseas business trip on cards. You will feel on the top of the of the world today and you will spread happiness wherever you will go. You will be mentally very relaxed on professional front. You are soon moving abroad to your place of desire for permanent settlement. You usually don’t sit at peace until your work is done. You are a tough, strong person by heart but you don’t forgive people who play with your sentiments. You have a good family life and you are very emotional about them. You need to wait until you fi nd a good life partner. You are good at managing your expenses and savings as much as possible. You will come across every kind of person but it depends on you how you deal with them. You must learn to maintain good relationships on work front as you cannot be blunt with people at work. Romance is in the air for you and you will spend some amazing time with you love today. You may think of buying a property but the only problem is the area. LEO JUL Y 24 - AUGUST 23 On professional front, you colleagues or your boss may give you a surprise party for your sincere effort in some project. Always be optimistic when it come to love. Homemakers will spend the whole day in resetting and arranging things in the house. A dear friend will surprise you. VIRGO AUG 24 - SEP 23 LIBRA SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22 You will benefi t from buying or selling the property about which you have been thinking for quite some time. Look for the strengths rather than the weakness. You are very serious about your career and you don’t tolerate any mistake in your work. SCORPIO OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22 People will not only notice your hard work but will also appreciate you for it. You will be able to successfully negotiate. Exercises alone won’t help you, you have to careful consider what you put in your belly. Many opportunities will knock at your door. You will go out of your way to help someone with their personal problems. You will meet someone who shares same ideologies like you. You are person of strong resolve and you don’t stop until you have accom- plished whats in your mind. Your family may demand your time. SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 - DEC 22 You may excel in some or the other sports an there is no harm in taking it seriously for once. Some of you have really started earning well and you are professionally growing day by day. A good news is waiting for you on professional front. You are about to achieve something great. CAPRICORN DEC 23 - JAN 20 Things are getting easy for you on academic front as you have starting exerting more than you ever have. Love life is secure for you. All your worries will vanish once you get the promotion and hike which will happen soon. You may feel very emotional about your parents. AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 19 PISCES FEB20 - MARCH 20 You need to not only understand what your partner wants but also make sure to deliver it. On professional front, you will meet the expectations of your boss. In fi nancial matter, you know hat needs to be done and you tend to make no mistakes. A fun trip with family is on cards for some. You will be very busy in doing your preparations that you will have no spare time for leisure. You will keep your promises as far as helping someone with money is concerned. You will work towards completion of a project. SHRUTI SHARMA, Interior Designer

ETC 13 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia IN MAKING! SHERNI ... her Instagram post V tseriesfilms @tseries.of- ficial @shikhaarif.sharma.” Vidya Sherni on February 8 with an Instagram post. She wrote, “Thrilled to announce my next film - #SHERNI ... Cannot wait to start shoot!.” Sherni will be directed by Amit Masurkar and produced by Bhushan Ku- mar. Vidya is currently awaiting the release of Shakuntala Devi- Hu- man-Computer. She is playing the titular role in the film. It also features Sanya Malhotra and Jis- shu Sengupta in support- ing roles. It will release on May 8. idya Balan kick- started shooting of her upcoming film Sherni on March 3, on the occasion World Wildlife announced of Day . She took to Insta- gram to share a picture of mahurat puja from the sets of the film. She captioned the picture saying, “Invoking blessings all across. The shoot begins on #World- WildlifeDay . Surreal to do the mahurat puja in an ancient temple in the middle of a forest. #Amit- Masurkar @ivikramix @ BhushanKumar #Kris- hanKumar @aasthatiku @abundantiaent #Sherni @ —Agency Vidya Balan Double Trouble! SNAPPED! S torial debut of Vardhan Ketkar and will hit the silver screens on November 20. Sidharth shared a picture with Bhushan Kumar and Murad Khetani on Twitter, and captioned it as, “Double trouble! Excited to be a part of this ultimate entertaining thriller, in association with @itsb- hushankumar, @MuradKhetani and #Vard- hanKetkar. See you at the movies on 20th November, 2020.” Bhushan Kumar shared saying, “Elated to announce my next col- laboration with @MuradKhetani starring @SidMalhotra. The film which is an ac- tion thriller inspired by true events is all set to go on floors this May and release on 20th November, 2020. #VardhanKetkar @ Cine1Studios @TSeries.” SANDEEP AUR PINKY FARAAR idharth Malhotra will play a double role in the Hindi remake of ‘Thadam’. The film is produced by Bhushan Kumar and Murad Khetani. It marks the direc- —Agency Sidharth Malhotra D Chopra and Arjun Kapoor on the run, in the trailer that was unveiled on Wednesday . The much-delayed film was origi- nally slated to release in 2018. It has now finally been locked for on March 20. In the trailer, Parineeti is introduced as Sandeep, and Arjun as Pinky . The trailer begins with Sandeep running towards Pinky , who is sitting in his car. She asks him to help her run bullets at each other. An angry Pinky confronts Sandeep regarding what trouble she is in. Later, they escape to a hill station where they meet an aged couple, played by Neena Gupta and Raghubir Yadav. “Celebrated #DibakarBanerjee returns to the big screen with another in- triguing tale, AurPinkyFaraar Releasing on 20th March, 2020! @arjunk26 @ ParineetiChopra @SAPFThe- Film,” Yash Raj Films tweet- ed on Wednesday along with a trailer. ibakar Banerjee’s next release ‘Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar’ has its lead actors Parineeti storyteller #Sandeep- away and is willing to pay him any amount. Soon, they come across a group of people firing —IANS Parineeti Chopra Connecting Fashion @ Jai Mahal Palace NEHAL NAYAR nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in A coming nearer, the excitement is starting to build up within the people of the Pink City . With the success of other pre-events of TFC7, the expectations of everyone have gone much higher, and the final grand showcase is slated to take place on 19 March at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur. But before the main day, team TFC7 has another surprise for the ones who are eager to be a part of it; another pre-event is going to take place at Hotel Jai Mahal Palace on March 6, to s the dates of the final day of ‘The Fashion Connect Season (TFC7) by First India is 7’ I believe food is always evolving. My teams’ food is a perfect blend of a bygone era and a striking balance of sophistication in the usage of spices. We offer traditional Indian cuisine with a unique, contemporary twist, complemented by an appealing presentation. —CHEF AMARENDRA MISHRA, Executive Chef Jai Mahal Palace is a master- piece in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture, that blends opulence with modern comforts. The hotel transports fashion to a world of Rajasthani magnifi cence that was once the sole pre- serve of Maharajas. We look forward to showcasing the trendsetting fusion of history and fashion at the palace. —VARUN NIGAM, General Manager (From top) Katrina Kaif and Dia Mirza were spotted during the IIFA-2020 media meet in Mumbai on Wednesday, in a black and pink dress respectively, while Kiara Advani was snapped at the special screening of Netfl ix’s upcoming fi lm ‘Guilty’, which is slated to release on 6 March. Hotel Jai Mahal Palace, Jaipur to compliment the essence of the grand show. This event is a ‘Sundowner’ with alluring fashion sequences giving a preview of the main day, and amazing mouth-watering delicacies. give a little preview of the show. As the show falls under the ‘elite’ category, the venue is no less. One of the most beautiful properties of the Pink City was chosen for the preview of TFC7,

CITY BUZZ AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 14 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI Capturing the ESSENCE and his contemporaries, the ex- hibit is part of a collection owned by celebrated art collector Anil Relia and his wife Tanuja. The event was inaugurated by Padma Bhushan architect BV Doshi and attended by well- known names of the city’s art circuit. The exhibition is open for all and will go on till Sunday from 4 pm to 8 pm. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com CITY FIRST A n exhibition ‘The Indian Portrait- XI’ was inaugurated at Amdavad ni Gufa on Tuesday. The showcase displayed included portrait photo- graphs clicked by veteran artist and photographer Jyoti Bhatt. Giving a peek into the lives of the Padma Shri artist Lending a helping hand CITY FIRST T economic empowerment in a sustainable manner, the Self-Employed Women’s Association, SEWA organ- ised a 15-day training programme on Women’s Eco- nomic Empowerment in the city. It saw 15 participants belonging to government and civil society or- ganisations in countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Bhutan. The participants learned how to strengthen existing membership-based organizations (MBOs) through an integrated approach of work, income, food and social security. Along with extensive field visits, they got the opportunity to in- teract and exchange ideas and strategies with health workers, co-operative leaders, organizers, community leaders and different government officials in Ahmedabad and Delhi. Dia- logue and discussion with policy-makers and senior bureaucrats was also an in- tegral part of the exposure programme. Kezang Dolkar Dorji, In- terim Executive Director, SAARC Business Associa- tion of Home-Based Work- provided us with insights Remembering the MAHATMA M Gandhi ‘Bapu’, a two- day film festival has been organized by the Collectorate of Ahmedabad in collabo- ration with Directorate of Film Festivals, Min- istry of Information and Broadcasting. The festival was inaugurated by Ahmedabad may- or Bijal Patel at Tagore Hall on Wednesday . The fest was kicked off by the screening of 1983 Academy Award- winning film ‘Gandhi’ directed by Sir Richard Attenborough and starring Ben Kingsley, Om Puri, Roshan Seth, Nee- na Gupta, Supriya Pathak, Tom Alter, among other firebrand Indian actors. Other films to be screened at the festival include the 2006 Bollywood film ‘Lage Raho Munnab- hai’, National Award- winning Gujarati film ‘Hellaro’, 1996 Indo-Afri- can film ‘The Making of the Mahatma’ by Shyam Benegal, and 2011 criti- cally acclaimed film ‘I am Kalam’. The screen- ings are free for all. —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI City First o promote cooperation and mutual learning on how to achieve arking 150th anniversary of Mahatma the birth women’s Schedule  Lage Raho Munnabhai March 5 at 9 am  Hellaro March 5 at 12 noon  The Making of the Mahatma March 6 at 9 am  I am Kalam March 6 at 12 noon on how we can help Home- Based Workers (HBWs) in their countries. I am impressed to see the way SEWA has closely collabo- rated with the government for better implementation of various flagship programmes, including Ayush- man Bharat and the Na- tional Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).” cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com ers (SABAH Bhutan), said, “This training programme is a fantastic opportunity for us to the concepts of social security and livelihood in a ho- listic way. It’s indeed great to see that in more than 47 years of existence, SEWA has helped informal sector women workers to rise above poverty . The training understand

First India News Paper-Gujarat-English News Paper Today-05 March 2020 edition

First India News Paper-Gujarat-English News Paper Today-05 March 2020 edition

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