First India News Paper-Gujarat-English News Paper Today-19 March 2020 edition

1. AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 112 Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman. —FILE PHOTO PMDISCUSSES GLOBAL SITUATION AMID CORONA PANDEMIC WITH SAUDI PRINCE New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a telephonic conver- sation with the Crown Prince of Saudi Ara- bia, Mohammed bin Salman, and the two leaders discussed the global situation re- garding the outbreak of coronavirus. “PM Narendra Modi had a telephonic con- versation today with the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Ara- bia, Mohammed bin Salman. The two lead- ers discussed the global situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic,” India’s MEA said in a statement on Tuesday. The MEA said PM Modi emphasised the need for coordinated efforts to adequately address the global challenge which has impacted not only the health and well-being of several agreed that a similar coronavirus. —ANI “During the BJP Par- Not to take out protests: PM Modi New Delhi: Prime Min- ister Narendra Modi has asked the party members not to ‘organ- ise or participate’ in any protest in all states where the BJP is in op- position, sources said on Tuesday . PM Modi shared his word of advice during the BJP’s Parliamen- tary party meeting here, which place on Tuesday and was attended by the party MPs. Prime Minister Modi’s ad- vice assumes signifi- cance in view of the Government of In- dia’s advisory to avoid any kind of gathering to keep the spread of coronavirus check. PM Modi terms those working to contain COVID-19 as ‘real soldiers’ PM Modi em- phasised the need for coor- exercise at the level of G20 leaders, under the aegis of Saudi Arabia as the Chair of G20, would be use- ful at a global scale, both for discussing specific measures to address the challeng- es posed by the global outbreak ID-19 and also to in- stil confidence in the global populace,” the statement read. Both the leaders de- cided that their officials would remain in close contact in this regard. On Sunday, partici- pants from all eight SAARC nations -- In- dia, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lan- ka, Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Bhutan -- held a video confer- ence to exchange their views and share expe- riences in fighting the global outbreak of dinated efforts to ade- quately address the global challenge which has impacted not only the health and well-be- ing of several hundred thousand people but also threatens to ad- versely affect the econ- omy in many parts of the world. Ministry of External Affairs New Delhi: Prime Minister Modi on praised the officials, professionals and oth- ers working on the ground to check the spread of coronavirus at a high risk to their own safety across the country , and asked his party’s MPs to pay re- spects to such people. The Prime Minister’s remarks came during the BJP parliamenta- ry party meeting on Tuesday . Modi likened the workforce gaged on the ground in the fight against coronavirus termed them as “real soldiers”. Narendra Tuesday of COV- hundred thousand peo- ple but also threatens to adversely affect the economy in many parts of the world. “In this context, the Prime Minister men- tioned India’s recent initiative to organise a video conference among SAARC coun- tries. The two leaders took —FILE PHOTO Prime Minister Narendra Modi. liamentarians should give respect to them whenever they come across in public places,” a BJP MP said. The BJP MP fur- ther stated that Prime liamentary Party meet- ing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the officials, staff members are real soldiers of our nation including sweep- ers. He said that all par- Minister Modi urged the fellow Members of Parliament to ap- preciate and praise the efforts put in by these people with fer- vour. en- and under —ANI —ANI COVID-19: Rupani govt to teach students through regional channels Haresh Jhala department. Agriculture Minister RC Faldu, reply- ing to debate on the de- partment’s proposals in the State Assembly, stat- ed that Rs 3,215 crore ben- efits have reached into the accounts of farmers as part of the Prime Min- ister Kisan Sanman fund. Under the programme, each farmer is to be paid Rs 6,000. For 2020-21, the state government has made provision of Rs 7,423 crore for agriculture and allied ments. In the year 1994-95, this was only Rs 398.34 crore. In the last calendar year, the farmers suf- fered a huge loss due to unseasonal rains and to bail them out the gov- ernment announced Rs 3,795 crore as compen- sation. Over 56 lakh farmers have benefited from this package. From 1980 for three decades, the state gov- ernment was purchasing agriculture commodities worth Rs 1,200 crore, against that in the last three years it purchased the commodities worth Rs 9,640 crore from farm- ers at minimum support price. various subjects for one hour everyday through regional channels. Guja- rat is the first to take such an innovative ac- tion in the interest of stu- dents. Professional teach- ers of maths, sciences and other subjects will be roped in to run these classes. Students of class seven to nine and eleven will be taught through the local TV channels. maths and English sub- jects of class seven and nine will be taught, maths, physics, chem- istry, biology and ac- FRESH GUIDELINES OF STATE GOVT ON VIRAL PANDEMIC  Sanitisers to be kept in all departments Gandhinagar: Even as the State Government on Sunday ordered schools and colleges closed down as a pre- cautionary over the coronavirus scare, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani wants to ensure that children’s education does not suf- fer and so has in a nov- el initiative decided to run classes through regional TV channels. Rupani announced on Wednesday that from March 19 to March 28, students would be taught measure  Avoid personal meeting  Use video conference and email more to communicate counts will be taught to class eleven students. Meanwhile, the farm- er-friendly government has approved Rs 7,423 crore for the agriculture Science, depart- —FILE PHOTO Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

2. TALKING POINT 02 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia To illustrate, a sick traveler with COVID-19 who returns to the US from China doesn’t make a pandemic, but once they infect a few family members or friends, there’s some debate. If new local outbreaks ensue, epidemiologists will agree that efforts to control global spread have failed and refer to the emerging situation as a pandemic DIVYA HEMNANI BEFORE AFTER WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PANDEMIC, EPIDEMIC & OUTBREAK? I regions of the world, it is con- sidered a pandemic. However, some epidemiologists classify a situation as a pandemic only once the disease is sus- tained in some of the newly affected regions through local transmission. To illustrate, a sick traveler with COVID-19 who returns to the US from China doesn’t make a pandemic, but once they infect a few family mem- bers or friends, there’s some debate. If new local outbreaks ensue, epidemiologists will agree that efforts to control global spread have failed and refer to the emerging situa- tion as a pandemic. Terms are political, not just medical Epidemiologists are princi- pally concerned with prevent- ing disease, which may be fundamentally different than the broader concerns of gov- ernments or international health organizations. The WHO has declared only two pandemics in histo- ry - for influenza in 1918 and for influenza H1N1 in 2009. For weeks, epidemiologists like me have been calling the coronavirus a pandemic. From an epidemiological per- torical event. implores us to stop reading the news. While he advocates going SWITCH OFF Avoid the 24/7 news chan- nels and feeds unless it is your business to do so, or unless the information is likely to impact you directly. Try to develop a routine of checking in on the main headlines once, twice or three times a day so you stay informed about the most important events without being sucked into the vortex of click bait and news of incremental changes in the number of coronavirus cases or the ups and downs of the stock markets. aged morning and evening news. health during a crisis. INTERNATIONAL AND OUT OF CONTROL BIGGER AND SPREADING SMALL, BUT UNUSUAL A When people in places out- side of Wuhan began testing positive for infection with SARS-CoV-2 (which causes the disease known as COV- ID-19), epidemiologists knew the outbreak was spreading, B learn to predict how many cases of an illness should normally happen within a de- fined period of time, place and population. An outbreak is a noticeable, often small, increase over the expected number of cases. Imagine an unusual spike in the number of children with diarrhea at a daycare. One or two sick kids might be normal in a typical week, but if 15 children in a daycare spective, the WHO’s declara- tion is overdue. As of March 11, the official numbers count an excess of 120,000 cases in at least 114 countries. Pandemic is the highest level of global health emer- gency and signifies wide- spread outbreaks affecting multiple regions of the world. However, the WHO state- ments remain hopeful that the pandemic can be con- trolled and the damage mini- mized by taking immediate aggressive steps. The formal declaration of COVID-19 or any other infec- tious disease as pandemic tells governments, agencies and aid organizations world- wide to shift efforts from con- tainment to mitigation. It has economic, political and soci- etal impacts on a global scale, and the WHO takes extreme care when making this deter- mination. This formal declaration needn’t incite fear or cause you to stockpile surgical masks. It doesn’t mean the virus has become more infec- tious or more deadly, nor that your personal risk of getting the disease is greater. And it doesn’t mean that efforts to fight COVID-19 are being abandoned. But it is an his- a likely sign that containment efforts were insufficient or came too late. This was not unexpected, given that no treatment or vaccine is yet available. But widespread cases of COVID-19 across Chi- na meant that the Wuhan out- break had grown to an epi- demic. come down with diarrhea all at once, that is an outbreak. When a new disease emerg- es, outbreaks are more notice- able since the anticipated number of illnesses caused by that disease was zero. An example is the cluster of pneumonia cases that sprung up unexpectedly among mar- ket-goers in Wuhan, China. Public health officials now know the spike in pneumonia cases there constituted an outbreak of a new type of coronavirus, now named SARS-CoV-2. n the most classical sense, once an epidemic spreads to multiple countries or n epidemic is an out- break over a larger geographic y tracking diseases over time and geogra- phy, epidemiologists area. 5 WAYS TO MANAGE YOUR NEWS CONSUMPTION IN TIMES OF CRISIS Thousands of employees interna- tionally are already working from home in COVID-19 self-isolation because of their recent travel, re- lated symptoms or immune system vulnerability. But to do so while habitually checking the news on devices - and allowing 24/7 news channels to play non-stop in the background - might erode your productivity and increase stress and anxiety. A foundational element of media literacy in the digital era is striking an appropriate balance between news consumption and other activities. Even before the current crises, Australian research demon- strated news avoidance had risen among news consumers from 57% in 2017 to 62% in 2019, driven by a sense of news fatigue. Self-help expert Rolf Dobelli cold turkey and abandoning all packaged news consumption. So too does philosopher Alain de Botton in The News – A User’s Manual, while proposing more positive news and journalism’s examination of life’s deeper issues, emotions and aesthetics. In journalism education there has been a move towards “peace journalism”, “mindful journalism”, “constructive journalism” and “solutions journalism”, where the news should not merely report what is wrong but suggest ways to fix it. Of course, it would be a mistake to abstain from all news during the COVID-19 pandemic and its unpredictable economic and social consequences. Often it is best to navigate a middle path, so here are five sug- gestions on how you can stay in the loop at home while you get your work done. DIVE DEEP Look for long-form journalism and in-depth commentary on the topics that most interest you. Articles by experts (Editor’s note: like those in The Conversation!) include the most important facts you need to know, and are likely to have a constructive angle presenting incisive analysis and a pathway to a solution or best practice. On radio and television, look for big picture current affairs programs like the ABC’s AM and 7.30 – or on a lighter and more positive note Ten’s The Project – so you don’t have to be assaulted by a disturbing litany of petrol station hold-ups, motorway chases and celebrity gossip in the pack- CONNECT Use social media wisely – for com- municating with family and friends when you might be physically isolated and by following authoritative sources if something in the news is affecting your life directly, such as emergency services during cyclones, fires and floods. But avoid the suggested and sponsored news feeds with dubious and unfiltered information (often shared as spam by social media illiterates). Keep your social media commentary civil, empathetic and supportive – mindful of everyone’s mental INTERROGATE Ask the key question: “What is the best source of the information I absolutely need to know?” Go to primary sources where possible. Subscribe to offi- cial and authoritative information feeds – for example, daily sum- maries from the World Health Organisation) and the Common- wealth Department of Health on COVID-19 and your preferred bank’s summary reports on the sharemarket and economic indicators. BE MINDFUL Bear in mind the well being of any children in your household with the timing and selec- tion of your hard/live news consumption. Research has shown more constructive news stories have fewer negative mental health impacts on children, particularly when combined with the opportunity to discuss the contents with their peers. Finally, you might also use these crises to build your own media literacy – by pausing to reflect carefully upon what news you really need in your family’s life. For many of us it will mean a much more critical diet of what we call “traditional hard news”–allowing us the time to read and view mate- rial that better contributes to the quality of our lives. Design: Abhishek Gupta Municipal workers spray disinfectant on boats at Dal lake as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, in Srinagar on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

3. AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJ ENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 112 21°C - 37°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 COMBATING COVID-19 SECTION 144 IMPOSED IN RAJ TILL MARCH 31 Jaipur’s Amber Fort bears a deserted look after all monuments were shut due to coronavirus. —PHOTO BY NAIM KHAN Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday ordered to impose Section 144 of the CrPC, which prohibits assembly of more than four people in an area, in order to contain the spread of coronavirus till March 31. CORONA TAKES STOCK, MARKET TANKS BELOW 29K Sensex nosedives 1,709 points in freefall Nifty gives up 8,500-mark PM MODI TO ADDRESS NATION TODAY AT 8 PM PM Modi will address the nation on Thursday evening on corona crisis and the efforts to combat it. The address comes after a high-level meeting the PM chaired to review the efforts to contain pandemic. SC asks BJP if MP rebel Cong MLAs exercised choice freely? MIMI IN SELF QUARANTINE AFTER LONDON VISIT  Bengali fi lm actress and Trinamool Con- gress MP Mimi Chakraborty, who returned from England on Tuesday, announced she would remain in home isolation for the next seven days and won’t even meet her parents as a precautionary measure in view of the coronavirus outbreak. Barring ONGC,ITC, all Sensex constituents finished in the red New Delhi: The Su- preme Court Wednesday asked the BJP how could the court be sure that the 16 rebel MLAs from Madhya Pradesh, staying at a resort in Bengaluru, had exercised their choice to tender their resignations from the state Assembly freely? A bench headed by Justice DY Chandra- chud and comprising Justice Hemant Gupta said these 16 could tilt the balance this way or that way . “We are thinking as to how we can ensure an order....They must have free unhindered access to the Assembly. They should be free to exercise, do whatever they want.” Advocate Maninder Singh, representing the rebel MLAs, Turn on P9 on  Mimi, who touched down at the NSCBI Airport in Kolkata from London where she had been busy shooting for “Baazi”, went through thermal screening. Mumbai: The Sensex crashed below the 29,000-level while the Nifty dived almost 500 points on Wednesday as the coronavirus pandemic maintained its death grip on mar- kets across the globe. S&P lowering In- dia’s growth forecast and the Court’s refusal to pro- vide relief to telecom firms on the AGR issue further sapped risk ap- petite, traders said. After swinging over 2,488.72 points in a high- ly volatile session, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 1,709.58 points or 5.59 per cent lower at 28,869.51. The Sensex closed below the 29,000- mark for the first time Finally, Congress decides to fight it out on two Gujarat RS seats The party was earlier in two minds about contesting both the seats amid fears of horse-trading BJP CHIEF Nationalist Congress Party’s only MLA from Kutiyana Kandhal Jadeja met State BJP President Jitubhai Vaghani on Wednesday, a day after he announced that he will vote for the BJP candidates. Wednesday’s meeting between Jadeja and Vaghani has led to speculation that Jadeja may join the BJP Turn on P9 GOVT, RBI MULL RELAXING BAD LOAN RULES FOR CORONA HIT SECTORS Government and central bank are considering giving relief to banks, aviation and other hospital- ity sectors hit by the coronavirus outbreak by relaxing bad loan classifi cation rules, a source familiar with the matter said. The gov- ernment is discussing increasing timeline by 30-60 days to classify a loan as a bad loan, the source said. Currently, a debt not serviced for 90 days is classifi ed as a bad loan. Congress  She appealed to people to abide by the government directives to prevent spread of disease.  “I have returned from a place like UK via Dubai. So all the pre- cautions have been taken. My father is above 65 years, I have told parents not to meet me.” Supreme Justice Ranjan Gogoi to take oath as Rajya Sabha member today New Delhi: Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi will take oath as Rajya Sabha member on Thursday, sources said. Rajya Sabha sources said he will take oath at by PowerGrid (11.29 per cent), Kotak Bank (11.23 per cent), Bajaj Finance (11.11 per cent), HDFC Bank (9.92 per cent) and NTPC (8.08 per cent). Earlier in the day, S&P Global Ratings lowered India’s eco- nomic growth forecast to 5.2 per cent for 2020, since January 2017. On similar lines, the broader NSE plummeted points, or 5.56 per cent, to end at 8,468.80. Barring ONGC and ITC, all Sensex constitu- ents finished in the red. IndusInd Bank was the top loser, diving 23.90 per cent, followed Nifty 498.25 11 am on Thursday . The former CJI, who gave landmark Ayod- hya judgment, nominated to the Rajya Sabha by President Ram Nath Kovind on March 16. was has Turn on P9 Story behind resignations of 5 Cong MLAs NCP’S ONLY MLA MEET STATE Gargi Raval dered. It has been affect- ed after he became an MLA,” a source from Jadeja’s home district of Kutch told First India. On the other side, Pravin Maru who re- signed as MLA from from Gadhada is in huge debt. “He has a very good political ca- reer and had defeated BJP heavyweights in the past. Apparently, he has two families and there is a case of biga- my . His other wife lives in Mumbai. Soma Patel, who re- signed from Limbdi constituency is 79 years old and he may not con- test any election in the future. He was report- edly won over “with at- tractive sops but on the condition that no one from his family asks a BJP ticket in the fu- ture,” a senior leader disclosed. Pradyumansinh Jadeja is appreciated for his work in Abda- sa, which he repre- sented. There was not a single police com- plaint filed against his son, who went trigger-happy firing a few rounds and had even injured a local persons. “Because of his repu- tation and goodwill, no police complaint was filed at that time. Now it appears this was used against him. Secondly, Jadeja wishes that his transportation business of ferrying trucks from the Mundra Port to sev- eral places runs unhin- First India News Bharatsinh Solanki, the two candidates, dis- closed this to the MLAs on their return to Jaipur, where they all are camping, from Del- hi on Wednesday . In the meeting with national interim Presi- dent Sonia Gandhi, at- tended by national ob- servers B.K. Hari Pras- ad and Rajni Patil, the State leaders said that as of now they needed only one vote techni- cally whether to get one of the two leaders to withdraw from the fray after these resig- nations and apprehen- sions of cross-voting. Finally, it was decid- ed that both would con- test since they still have the possibility of scrap- ing through with the support of one Inde- pendent Jignesh Mevani. At the moment, the Congress has 68 legislators. Shaktisinh Gohil and Gandhinagar: It was not as much the moolah as other pressing rea- sons that prompted five Congress MLAs to re- sign nearly two weeks ahead of the Rajya Sab- ha elections, pushing the Opposition party in a crisis of sorts. According to highly placed sources, all of them had different rea- sons for surrendering to the BJP’s shenani- gans. Gandhinagar: After much dilly-dallying, the Congress high command has decided that to field both its Gujarat candidates in the March 26 Rajya Sabha though the party is down by five MLAs who resigned earlier in the week. Till Tuesday night, the central leadership was in two minds elections, candidate Turn on P9 Turn on P9

4. GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 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 54 PASSENGERS BEING TESTED CORONA ALERT Quarantined at a hotel after ruckus over hygiene at Sola Civil Hospital; Helpline receives 1,200 calls in two weeks Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg applauds Gujarat —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI First India News There are more than 100,000 Face- Ahmedabad: book’s number two ex- ecutive Sheryl Sandberg took to the social media platform on Wednesday to praise the efforts of schools in Gujarat in the efficient dissemination of information on the on- going global COVID-19 pandemic. Even as Guja- rat continues to remain Coronavirus-free, educa- tors in Gujarat sharing informative videos and infographics found a spe- cial mention in her post as she informed her fol- lowers that Facebook has been working with the state’s Department of Education to plan a live session to “help them keep people informed”. She went on to give the example of Gujarat, and wrote, “In the state of Gujarat in India, there are more than 100,000 educators across thousands of schools us- ing Workplace from Fa- cebook to share videos, infographics and news in real-time—every- educators across thousands of schools using Workplace from Facebook to share videos, infograph- ics and news in re- al-time-everything from the latest government advice to videos showing how to encourage children to wash their hands. —Sheryl Sandberg Fifty-four passengers who arrived in the city early Wednesday morning were fi rst taken fi rst to Sola Civil, and later to a private hotel in Gandhinagar’s GIFT City, where they have been quarantined. First India News principal secretary for health Jayanti Ravi told First India, “All the pas- sengers have quarantined in a Gan- dhinagar hotel, and the state government will foot the bill for their stay there.” Meanwhile, the gov- ernment’s Coronavirus helpline number (104) has received 1,200 calls in two weeks, largely from NRIs asking about COVID-19 symptoms. GVK EMRI officer Vikas Bhalani First India, “Most peo- ple ask about the symp- toms, while some ask about Awareness creased, but there is also panic.” 450 people in Ahmedabad still under home-quarantine Ahmedabad: Even as the Railways an- nounced that Train No. 82901/ 82902 Ahmedabad- Mum- bai Central Tejas Ex- press will remain cancelled up to March 31 to avoid the spread of COVID-19, antined over 900 peo- Ahmedabad: As many as 54 international pas- sengers are being quar- antined at a private ho- tel—at a cost of Rs4,000 per day to the state—af- ter they complained about the lack of hy- giene at GMERS Medi- cal College and Hospi- tal (Sola Civil), in the city’s Sola area on Wednesday. They are currently awaiting the results of tests for COV- ID-19. Most of these people, who arrived Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel In- ternational Airport at around 3.30 am on Wednesday, are stu- Tourists seek help to come home been portant to ensure that a home-quaran- tine is effective. We ask that quarantined patients stay isolat- ed, wear masks and maintain a distance of one metre while communicating with family members.” ple arrived here from foreign countries. While half of these have successfully completed the 14-day quarantine, the re- maining 450 people are currently under home-quarantine.” He added, “It is im- as many as 450 Amda- vadis are already un- der home-quaran- tine. Addressing the me- dia, Ahmedabad Mu- nicipal Commission- er Vijay Nehra said, “We have home-quar- thing from the latest government advice to videos like the one in the picture, showing how to encourage chil- dren to wash their hands.” He also shared a screenshot from a Sept 2019 video of Amargadh Primary School which shows students the cor- rect technique to wash their hands. Another passenger, Naimeshbhai said, “We were all stuck on differ- ent beds in the same ward. There was no iso- lation.” While Sola Civil Su- perintendent Dr RM Jitiya could not be con- tacted for comment, son can get sick here. We were shifted here straight from the air- port but were not given any food until morn- ing. No medical investi- gations were carried out, and hospital offi- cials did not visit until morning.” were moved eventually moved to the private ho- tel in Gandhinagar around noon, to await the results of tests for Coronavirus infection. Maheshbhai Soni of Surat told First India, “The ward is so filthy that even a healthy per- dents and tourists from Surat, Vadodara and Bhavnagar. They were first taken to the isolation ward at Sola Civil, where they kicked up a storm over the lack of hygiene and timely access to food and medical staff. They told at treatment. has in- Govt rubbishes fake positive case in Surat First India News Four deboarded with ‘quarantine seal’ on hands BAPU, DID YOU HEAR? First India News First India News WHAT HAPPENED Ahmedabad: Over four dozen Indian tourists, including about a dozen from Gujarat, and at least 39 from Maharash- tra on Wednesday sought the help of Maharashtra Water Resources Minis- ter Jayant Patil for their evacuation from Uzbeki- stan. In a video-call to Patil, the tourists said that they had undertak- en a week-long group tour on March 10 and were scheduled to fly back home from Uzbeki- stan shortly after mid- night (local time) on Wednesday (early morn- ing of March 18 in India). However, Uzbekistan Airways cancelled their flight back to India at the last minute after Uzbeki- stan has reported one suspected case of COV- ID-19, leaving stranded in the Central Surat: The government has rubbished reports that a woman in Surat has been diagnosed with COVID-19. While a 21-year-old woman who recently arrived from London is indeed being tested for the virus, her test reports are being awaited. However, a message doing rounds on social media on Wednesday prema- turely claims that she has tested positive, lead- ing to panic. Later in the day, the district health depart- ment declared that the message was a fake, adding that, so far, there have been no positive cases in Surat district. The statement also said legal action would be taken against the per- son who first posted the fake message. Surat: Four passengers were asked to de-board from a Surat-bound train at Palghar station in Maharashtra Wednesday after they were found with a ‘quarantine seal’. The family of four was travelling the Gar- ib Rath Express, when the ticket checkers and co-passengers raised an alarm after seeing a stamp on their hands. The stamps are part of the Maharashtra gov- ernment’s efforts to tag people who are sup- posed to be under home- quarantine. They were taken to the Govern- ment Hospital at Pal- ghar and later handed over to the district med- ical authorities. Offi- cials said they were NRIs who had travelled from Germany . A little girl touches the ear of a bust of the Mahatma at the Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. The state government has announced that the Ashram will be off- limits to visitors until March-end. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI on the CBSE issues COVID-19 guidelines First India News day that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is- sued guidelines to be followed for the remain- der of the board exami- nations. Superinten- dents at each Board exam centre will be re- sponsible to ensure that Asian nation. In re- sponse, Patil assured them: “We will make all efforts to ensure your re- turn at the earliest.” He said he would raise the issue with National Con- gress Party chief Sharad Pawar and ask him to contact the Centre. ready been held, and those for 51 subjects re- main, only seven exam- inations will see more than one lakh exam- takers in India and abroad. The exams are to be conducted on March 17, 18, 20, 21, 23 and 24. candidates are seated at a distance of at least one meter from each other, the notice said, adding that masks are to be provided to candi- dates who cough or sneeze. While examinations for 165 subjects have al- New Delhi: The Guja- rat University Wednesday announced that exams meant to be- gin March 23 will now begin April 17 over COVID-19 This comes on the same on them concerns. Diamond, textile units to keep calm, carry on First India News virus. Similarly, the textile industry has also de- cided to continue op- erations despite the slowdown. South Gujarat Tex- tile Processors’ Asso- ciation (SGTPA) presi- dent Jitubhai Vakhar- ia said that shutting down units make it difficult to keep workers indoors, resulting in more so- cial movement and in- creasing chances of the virus spread. The Surat Diamond Association (SDA) has decided not to shut down units but ensure cleanliness and create awareness about the outbreak during opera- tions. This is echoed by the Gems and Jewel- lery Export Promotion Council where regional chair- man Dinesh Navadia said the decision would not only ensure that workers remain em- ployed but also help limit the spread of the IN FREEFALL Surat: The city’s dia- mond and synthetic textiles industries will remain open to sustain business even as COV- ID-19 has hit exports and domestic demand. Industry say any disruption in these would not only affect the health of the industries themselves adversely but would also have a negative impact on the roughly two million workers insiders (GJEPC), would from states such as Odisha, Bihar Jharkhand, but add that adequate precau- tions will be made to prevent the spread of the virus. and —FILE PHOTO keep the units open for the benefit of unit own- ers and workers, many of whom are migrants employed by them. They say the respec- tive industry associa- tions have decided to

6. PERSPECTIVE 06 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia CORONA GIVES SAARC A CHANCE TO REUNITE PM Modi has won hearts and shown the kind of leadership that is needed IN-DEPTH CONG ON SLIPPERY SLOPE IN RS POLLS game of political one-upmanship is on between the Bharatiya Ja- nata Party and the Congress for supremacy in the Upper House of parliament which has its bien- nial polls on March 26. A rudderless Con- gress finds itself buffeted by the BJP which has upset the party’s calculations in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh by causing defections. With 55 seats up for grabs, the Congress finds itself on a slippery wicket. The party could lose half of its 12 seats because of the recent defections in which 22 Congress leg- islators in Madhya Pradesh left the party in support of Jyotiraditya Scindia, who joined the BJP. Five Congress legislators in Gujarat also defected to the BJP , dashing the par- ty’s hopes of winning two of the four seats at stake. The party had been plan- ning to field two candidates given its strength of 73 in the 182-member assem- bly and the support extended by Jignesh Mevani, an independent MLA. To guard its flock against further poaching, Con- gress moved the remaining 68 legislators to a luxury hotel in Jaipur. Although the party high command sought their opinion on the number of candidates to be fielded, these lawmakers have unanimously au- thorised party president Sonia Gandhi to decide on the matter. Whatever the strat- egy , the Congress appears to have already lost one Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat even before the votes have been cast as the party is now six short of the number needed to win two seats. What we are witnessing is an action replay from 2017 Rajya Sabha poll when Ahmed Pa- tel barely managed to get past the line. Six Congress legislators had then defected to BJP and nine did not vote. Keeping the MLAs in a luxury hotel is no guarantee of their loyalty . In Madhya Pradesh Congress faces the loss of one seat after the departure of Scindia and the subsequent resignations by his loyalists. Both parties were as- sured of winning one seat each and the fight was for the third seat. After the de- fections, the third seat may also go the BJP way. In case the government is top- pled before March 26 and a few more Con- gress MLAs cross over, then the party could be left regretting Scindia’s humili- ation at the hands of Digvijay Singh and Kamal Nath. Congress decision to field Neeraj Dangi, a Dalit leader close to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, from Rajasthan has not gone down well with party legislators. Will this opposi- tion trip Dangi is difficult to say at this junc- ture. KC Venugopal, the other candidate, is expected to make it to the RS. In all, 55 seats from 17 states will go to polls. Of these, 51 are falling vacant in April due to retirement of sitting MPs and four seats are already vacant due to resignations. All five Trinamool Congress candidates from Bengal won unopposed. A PRACHITA SINGH SAXENA The author is a is a scholar of Strategic Affairs, and has been associated with USI of India, a Strategic Think Tank of GOI G od has strange ways of teaching mankind, it’s lessons. Supported by own advents and technology , whenever humans or any crea- ture has challenged nature, to say ‘ Ahhm Brahmasmi’ (I am the God), very subtly and clearly God has conveyed that you are far away from it and better know your place as mortals. Corona is also one such nature’s fury or god’s wrath that has shaken the entire mankind on this planet. We are all too busy fighting with each other over man- made boundaries of nations, regions, languages, religions and caste. The nature’s fury has no such boundaries and affects all living beings, across all such divisions, without any discrimination. ‘When Corona virus does not differ- entiate, why should we?’ SAARC is a regional alliance formed in 1985 by India and its neighbouring countries of South Asia. The purpose was friendly co-operation on vari- ous issues keeping in mind mu- tual benefits in trade and cul- tural exchange. Another aim plus was to build a healthy po- litical clout in the emerging multi-polar world order. How- ever, due to bilateral differences between the two biggest partici- pating nations, India and Paki- stan, the agenda got hijacked and subsequently , SAARC was put on the back burner. It goes to the astute states- man like Prime Minister Nar- endra Modi to again reunite all the SAARC members to fight the pandemic of Coro- na. It’s a world calamity and needs to be fought together. Let’s say – “SABKI LADAI.” PM Modi is an intelligent leader with a vision to convert threats into opportunities. In the past, he has successfully converted various jibes on him like ‘Chaiwala’ or ‘Chaukidar’ into election winning slogans. Also, he converted the Pulwama attack threat into national cre- scendo by giving a befitting re- z Formulate joint strategy to fight the Corona pandemic together and work towards finding an antidote for it. ply in the form of the surgical strikes. This clearly united the nation more fiercely and gave him another thumping victory . In the threat from Corona also, he found an opportunity not just to help the people globally but also to project himself as world leader. He moved swiftly to reunite SAARC for a common cause to serve the human race across manmade frontiers. PM Modi gave a call to all Head of the States to join in a video confer- ence and pledge a common intent and collective method- ology to fight the disease. All Head of the States readily agreed with exception of Pa- kistan who reluctantly con- firmed in the end. The Health Minister of Pakistan, Zafar Mirza, attended the confer- ence along with all other Head of the States, which was held at 5 pm on March 15, 2020. It is very unfortunate to find Pakistan’s arrogance and bellig- erent attitude at this hour of regional crisis. Why would they not want a solution to a pandem- ic, even for their own country- men? It is also a point of amuse- ment that not only did the Prime Minister refused to attend the meeting, the Health Minister used this meeting to again raise the issue of Kashmir and prais- ing China totally out of context. China had failed miserably to contain the COVID-19 which has led to this present day situation of severe urgency and panic in MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE VIDEO CONFERENCE AND JOINT DECLARATION IS THE SPIRIT BEHIND SUCH AN INITIATIVE z COVID-19 Emergency Fund with India pledging USD 10 million initially. z Rapid Response Teams of doctors and specialists in India to be on standby and placed at the disposal of SAARC. z Share integrated disease surveillance portal with SAARC members to keep a close watch on the spreading and containment of the disease. the whole world. Alarmingly , ministers, officials and media are on record to say that they do not have enough funds and resources to fight the COV- ID-19 but still, they refuse to join hands with their very neighbours. Have we really gone that far apart even being so close? And who exactly is perpetuating this distance? The uncompromising atti- tude and their severe obses- sion with Kashmir. This also is one of the primary reasons of decline of the stature of Pakistan as a nation state in the world standing. The video conference was a big hit, not just with all the par- ticipants but has been ac- claimed as a great move by the world. Following were some of the points flagged at the SAARC Video Conference and agreed to by all the participants:- z Create a common research platform to co-ordinate research. Pakistan’s z Combined evacuation of citizens from Corona-hit nations. More important than the vid- eo conference and joint dec- laration is the spirit behind such an initiative. PM Modi has won hearts and shown the kind of leadership that is needed from Head of a ma- ture and responsible Nation like India, at such an hour of crisis. Similar calls for joint action amongst G-20 and oth- er various international fo- rums is the testimony to the growing popularity of the initiative. Pakistan is again exposed to be on the verge of intellectual bankruptcy , with only bloated ego and attitude. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL We are all too busy fighting with each other over manmade boundaries of nations, regions, languages, religions and caste. The nature’s fury has no such boundaries and affects all living beings A silent hero during the Coronavirus crisis N Top TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp UP has emerged as a non-partisan, non-appeasing, yet most inclusive model of governance. Do read this detailed peice,’Three years of governance, trust and development’ by CM Shri @mYogiAdityanath ji on completion of 3years in office. Many firms, especially in tech, have closed their of- fices, mandated that em- ployees telecommute, and provided them with comput- ing and video technology to work remotely . Not only does this keep an important part of the economy going, but it also has had unintend- ed positive consequences. Vehicle congestion, for ex- ample, has vanished. The hours harried commuters previously lost in traffic can now be dedicated to work and family . Corporate travel is disappearing, and video conferences are the new norm, with associated re- ductions in airplane pollu- tion and huge savings in time. Likewise, educators at nearly every level are scram- bling to find online alterna- tives to in-classroom in- struction. FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.PROJECTSYNDICATE.ORG governments to track the infected, contact them, and quarantine them early. These technologies have been the target of much criticism in recent years. Now, when they are help- ing us save lives, they de- serve our praise. South Korea’s achieve- ment is truly impressive. As of March 17, the coun- try has had 8,320 cases and 81 deaths, despite an early bad start. Contrast this with Italy, which at the same time reports 27,980 cases and 2,158 deaths. Technology’s contribu- tion to pandemic manage- ment goes beyond tracking and quarantines. As the US and countries in Europe move toward near-com- plete lockdown, with po- tentially disastrous conse- quences for the world econ- omy, technology offers a glimmer of hope. ety’s good ahead of private convenience. I would add that these countries also stand out for their students’ high math literacy . In the 2019 PISA rankings, pro- duced by the OECD, China ranks first in math with a score of 591 out of 600, Ja- pan ranks 6th, and South Korea is 7th. By contrast, Italy is in 31st place, Spain places 34th, and the United States ranks 37th.3 PISA scores may have their shortcomings, but they do provide a rough idea of the math literacy of the average citizen in the countries that take part. And the fact that the coun- tries with the highest rank- ings seem to have adopted the most effective contain- ment strategies serves as a reminder that, ultimately, the reason we want better training in math and logic is not to land more lucra- ot to diminish the superhuman efforts of nurs- es, doctors, and h e a l t h - c a re workers worldwide, but sometimes, no matter how hard one tries, and no mat- ter how selflessly one sacri- fices, one stands no chance against a more powerful en- emy . The new coronavirus, COVID-19, has proved to be such a foe. Were it not for technology , against it would have been lost by now. Math and technology, to be more precise. I say math, because understanding a concept as basic as “expo- nential growth” proved cru- cial for attacking the enemy head-on. The successful containment of the epidem- ic in China, South Korea, and Japan has been attrib- uted to strong governments and cultures that put soci- Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal Railways has been taking a series of proactive measures to stop the spread of #Coronavirus in India. Measures include creation of quarantine facilities & help desks, improved sanitation of stations & trains and regular announcements to inform passengers. the battle tive jobs, but to make bet- ter decisions regarding our lives. Technology has been the true champion in the fight against the spread of COV- ID-19. Here, I don’t mean the ICUs and respirators without which severely ill patients would not stand a chance. I mean the new data-driven technologies that enabled responsible SOMETIMES, NO MATTER HOW HARD ONE TRIES, ONE STANDS NO CHANCE AGAINST MORE POWERFUL Spiritual SPEAK Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. —Song of Songs 2:5 ENEMY G Vol 1 G Issue No. 112 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

7. INDIA AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 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 MP POLITICAL CRISISKarnataka High Court has rejected the plea by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh seeking directions to the police Rebel Cong MLAs demand security, write to K’taka DGP Bhopal: The rebel Con- gress MLAs holed up at a five star resort in Ben- galuru have demanded security from the Kar- nataka Director Gener- al of Police. They have also refused to meet Congress leader Digvi- jaya Singh who had gone on Wednesday morning to meet them. In a letter to the Kar- nataka DGP, the MLAs said, “Some Congress leaders from Madhya Pradesh have come to Bengaluru. They are putting pressure on us and are trying to create an atmosphere by which they can misrepresent the fact in the SC where hearing is going on.” In the letter, they said that they have giv- en an affidavit to the SC in which they have put forward facts and their views. “Kindly provide se- curity to us so that our life can be secured,” said the letter to the Karnataka DGP. Earli- er, rebels Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh, who are camp- ing in Bengaluru, is- sued a video message, refusing to meet Digvi- jaya Singh and other Congress leaders who have gone to meet them and reiterated that they were there out of their own choice. in Sehore district. Rebel Congress MLAs refuse to meet Digvijay BJP destroying democratic principles: Cong New Delhi: The BJP is using force and might to invariably destroy democratic principles, Advocate Dave appearing for the Congress party told the SC on Wednesday dur- ing the hearing on the former’s plea seeking directions for conduct- ing an immediate floor test in the MP Assem- bly. Dave told a two- judge bench headed by Justice Dr DY Chandra- chud and also compris- ing of Justice Hemant Gupta that a very stable government was func- tioning in the state for the past 18 months and urged that the MLAs who resigned from Con- gress must go back to the electorate and win the election again. have come here on our own. Request Digvijaya Singh and other leaders that they go back be- cause we don’’t want to meet them,” the MLAs said in the video mes- sage. Sources say that the rebel MLAs issued the video message to Digvijaya Singh after he was detained by the Bengaluru Police. Singh reached Ben- galuru on Wednesday morning wanting to meet the rebel MLAs. Twenty-two Congress MLAs have resigned from the Assembly, the resignation of six has been accepted by the Speaker. Digvijaya Singh an- nounced that he will start hunger strike as he was denied a meet- ing with the MLAs. Dushyant Kamal Nath accuses BJP of behaving like Hitler Digvijaya Singh Bhopal: Rebels Con- gress MLAs from Mad- hya Pradesh, who are camping in Bengaluru, issued a video message on Wednesday, refusing to meet former CM Dig- vijaya Singh and other Congress leaders who have gone to meet them and reiterated that they were there out of their own choice. “Have come to Ben- galuru on our own. For the past one year, no work has been done. We Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Minister Nath on Wednes- day accused theB- JP of ‘dirty ‘politics and suppressing democratic values and rights much like Hitler. The CM was re- acting after senior Congress leaders, including Digvi- jaya Singh were detained in Ben- galuru when they tried to meet the 16 rebel Congress MLAs. Nath said: “Con- gress Rajya Sabha candidate Digvi- jaya Singh and other Congress ministers tried to meet the Congress MLAs who have been held hostage by the BJP in Ben- galuru. The police stopped them, mis- behaved with them and detained them, which was com- pletely dictatorial and Hitler like.” Chief Kamal playing the Madhya Pradesh Congress Party MLAs leave after meeting Governor Lalji Tandon, to demand for the release of their party MLAs from Bengaluru on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI CONGRESS DELEGATION LIKELY TO MEET MP GUV NATH DARES BJP TO BRING NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION DK SHIVAKUMAR MEETS K’TAKA DGP SOOD DIGVIJAY BIGGEST DRAMATIST IN COUNTRY: SHIVRAJ ‘WE DON’T WANT TO MEET ANY PARTY LEADER’ A Congress delegation met Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon at 1:45 pm on Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday, CM Kamal Nath wrote to the Governor reiterating his demand for the rebel Congress MLAs to be brought back to Bhopal from Bengaluru. This development comes amid the political crisis in MP. MP Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Wednesday dared the BJP to bring a no-confi dence motion in the Assembly if they wanted a fl oor test to be conducted. “A fl oor test is done either due to trust vote or due to no-confi dence motion, ours is a running government not a new one,” Kamal Nath told reporters. Senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday dubbed Digvijay Singh of Congress as the “big- gest dramatist”, hours after the latter tried to meet rebel MLAs of his party in Bengaluru but prevented by the police. Shivraj Singh Chouhan said even the rebel MLAs are wary of Singh and didn’t want to meet him. “Digvijay Singh is the biggest dramatist in the coun- try,” the former chief minister told reporters Karnataka Cong Presi- dent DK Shivakumar on Wednesday met the DGP Praveen Sood in Bengaluru and de- manded police protec- tion for MP Cong MLAs and the removal of BJP workers from the hotel in Bengaluru, where the legislators are currently lodged. “The MP legis- lators have requested police protection, that is all. Let the police give them protection, our candidate (Digvijaya Singh) has come, let him meet the legisla- tors,” said Shivakumar. Kamal Citing threat to their life and security, 22 rebel Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh who are lodged in Bengaluru, wrote to Karnataka’s DGP on Wednesday requesting that no Congress leader should be allowed to meet them. “I am a Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh, voting is scheduled for March 26,” Singh told reporters. DIGVIJAYA TAKEN OUT OF POLICE STATION IN B’LURU GOVERNOR REPLIES TO SPEAKER’S LETTER Senior Cong leader Digvijaya Singh and other leaders were taken out of Amruthahalli Police Station in Bengaluru. Singh said, “I don’t know where am I being taken. I should have been allowed to meet my MLAs. I am a law-abiding citizen.” He added, “We will defend our govern- ment and will take back our MLAs.” Responding to Madhya Pradesh As- sembly Speaker NP Prajapati’s letter, state Governor Tandon said “Both of us have been receiving letters from the so-called missing MLAs. In their letters, wherever they are at present, they have not mentioned any diffi cul- ties being faced by them,” Tandon said in his letter on Tuesday. ANOTHER 205 INDIANS ARRIVE FROM IRAN New Delhi: The govern- ment on Wednesday evacuated another batch of 205 Indians from Iran, where 988 people have died due to the coronavi- rus pandemic. A flight of the Mahan Air landed in New Del- hi this morning with Indian passengers, mostly Shia pilgrims from Ladakh who were stranded in Iran, offi- cial sources said. Of those who re- turned, 115 are male, 85 female, four children and one infant. Some of them are Non Resident Indians as well. So far 591 Indians have been evacuated from Iran. Over 16,000 people in Iran, includ- ing around 250 Indian pilgrims have tested positive for coronavi- rus. India has sent a team of health profes- sionals for their treat- ment. India will pay heavy price: Rahul Gandhi MPs go through thermal scanning at Parliament BJP not to hold protest for 1 month: Nadda New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said quick and aggressive action was required to tackle coronavirus, warning India will pay “extreme- ly heavy price” for the Centre’’s inability to act decisively . “Quick aggressive ac- tion is the answer to tackling the coronavi- rus. India is going to pay an extremely heavy price for our govern- ment’’s inability to act decisively,” Rahul Gan- dhi said in a tweet. Even on February 12, he had made a similar statement when he said “coronavirus was an ex- tremely serious threat to the people and the economy .” “My sense is the government is not taking this threat seri- ously,” he said. ing began in Parl as the govt decided not to con- tinue the house and complete the session till April 3 unlike various state assemblies which have adjourned their proceedings in the wake of the spread of the deadly disease which has claimed over 7,000 lives across the world. New Delhi: Ministers as well as MPs have to go through thermal scanning before getting entry into Parliament premises on Wednesday for the first time as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of novel coronavirus out- break in the country . The thermal screen- Coronavirus scare enters ‘most secured’ Tihar Jail New Delhi: BJP has decided to not organise or par- ticipate in any form of demon- stration or agita- tion for the next one month. “The Prime Minister in the Parliamenta- ry party meeting yesterday, had de- sired that should avoid any type of agitation or demonstration because of the coronavirus pan- demic. The BJP has decided that the party will not participate in any agitation,” said party president JP Nadda. ‘GOGOI SHOULD EXPLAIN ‘CLEAN CHIT’ Tourists wear protective masks as a preventive measure against coronavirus, at Lotus temple in New Delhi on Wednesday. FIRST POSITIVE CASE IN WB CASE FILED AGAINST VARDHAN we Afghanistan. They also include four women. Till three to four days ago there were 12 Afghan among the quaran- tined prisoners but the number has down to three now. They were all arrested by the Customs De- partment. New Delhi: The coro- navirus scare reached Tihar Jail as well as other jails in the national capital and a total of 18 prison- ers have been quaran- tined so far. The isolated prison- ers include eight for- eign nationals out of which three are from has nationals come PHRASE ‘URBAN NAXALITES’ IS NOT USED BY GOVT : MHA IN RS New Delhi: The govern- ment does not use the phrase ‘Urban Naxalites’, Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy informed the RS on Wednesday. Reddy, in a written reply in the Upper House, said that the Centre’s national policy addresses Left- wing extremism in all its manifestation including the urban activities. “The REPORT CARD OF UP GOVT FILLED WITH LIES: PRIYANKA GANDHI New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said that the report card of Uttar Pradesh government on the completion of its three years is fi lled with lies. “The BJP government of UP is releasing its report card. In this report card fi lled with lies, big claims have been made about women’s safety. But PRADHAN HAILS PM MODI’S SAARC OUTREACH INITIATIVE POSTPONE VISIT TO VAISHNO DEVI: SHRINE BOARD phrase ‘Urban Naxal- ites’ is not used by the Ministry of Home Affairs. However, government’s national policy and action plan addresses Left-wing extremism in all its mani- festation including urban activities,” Reddy replied on being asked ‘who are urban Naxalites and what legal action has been taken against them’. after the horrifi c Unnao incident, the incident in Lakhimpur today exposed the claims of women’s safety. When will the gov- ernment wake up?” she tweeted. Earlier today, CM Yogi held a press confer- ence on the occasion of the BJP government com- pleting three years and an- nounced the achievement of the government. New Delhi: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative to bring together the SAARC na- tions to combat coronavirus by terming the move as “humane and far-sighted step,” which will serve as an example to the world. Pradhan said the step taken by Prime Minister Modi indicates India’s seriousness towards containing the viral outbreak, which recognises no border, but also the deep bonds of amity that New Delhi shares with the subcontinent. Jammu: After reviewing all aspects related to yatra and the safety of pilgrims in wake of coronavirus outbreak, Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board on Tuesday appealed pilgrims to postpone their visit to the temple till normalisation of the situation. “In view of coronavirus, Ramesh Ku- mar, Chief Executive Offi cer, Vaishno Devi Shrine Board today reviewed all aspects related to yatra and the safety of pilgrims. The CEO has appealed pilgrims to postpone their visit to the Shrine,” the shrine said in a statement.

8. INDIA AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 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 DON’T ASK QUESTIONS BASED ON NEWSPAPER INFORMATION: OM BIRLA New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday cautioned MPs not to ask ques- tions based on what is published in newspa- pers and raise issues only on the basis of their own information. Birla’s direction came after A. Raja, a Dravida Munnetra Ka- zhagam leader and an MP from Mayiladu- thurai in Tamil Nadu, referred to a newspa- per article while ask- ing a supplementary question during Ques- tion Hour. “MPs should not ask questions based on in- formation published in newspapers. This is in the rule book that ques- tions should not be asked based on the in- formation of newspa- pers and television channels. So, ask ques- tions based on your own information,” Bir- la said while interrupt- ing Raja. “The newspapers car- ried articles that the Law Minister and the Telecom Ministry suc- ceeded in getting the Supreme Court’s per- mission to allow private telecom operators like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea to pay statutory dues totalling Rs one lakh crore over 20 years. You succeeded. Who gave concession to the operators.” POWERGallery OVER 300 IAS OFFICERS YET TO FILE IPR Around 300 IAS offi cers from various cadres have not fi led Immovable Property Return (IPR). GOVT GOING SLOW WITH SR LEVEL TRANSFERS IN ARMY? Whispers are that relieving orders on transfers of senior offi cers in Army are not coming off easy these days as Govt is reportedly going slow on transfers of offi cers at Brigadier level and above. PANKAJ SINGH TO MOVE KOLKATA? Pankaj Singh is likely to move to Eastern Zone in Kolkata as ADG BSF. He is 1988 batch IPS offi cer of Rajasthan cadre. IRS OFFICER REDDY TO JOIN AP GOVT Sadhu Narsimha Reddy will join the Andhra Pradesh govt on deputation basis for three years. He is a 2006 batch IRS (C&CE) offi cer presently posted as Addl Commissioner, GST at Vizag Zone. R S ARUN GOES ON ICD TO KERALA R S Arun is going on inter cadre deputation (ICD) to Kerala from Manipur for a period of three years. He is 2009 batch IFS offi cer of Manipur cadre. MS JACINTHA LAZARUS GOES ON ICD TO KERALA Ms Jacintha Lazarus is going on ICD to Tamil Nadu from Manipur for a period of three years. She is 2005 batch IFS offi cer of Manipur cadre. ANUP KUMAR SATPATHY RETURNS TO PARENT CADRE Anup Kumar Satpathy, Group General Manager (Commercial & Operations), CONCOR at Central region, Nagpur, is returning to parent cadre after completing successful four years. During his ten- ure, the container rakes in central region especially at Mandideep (Bhopal) increased. He is a 1993 batch IRTS offi cer. NILAYA MITASH IS PRINCIPAL OPERATIONS COORDINATION SPECIALIST, ADB Nilaya Mitash has been appointed as Principal Operations Coordination Specialist (Regional Co- operation) IS 6 with the Asian Development Bank, New Delhi for a period of three years. He is 1991 batch IAS offi cer of Karnataka cadre. NO CLARITY ON HOW MD & CEOS OF MERGING PSBS WILL BE ACCOMMODATED There is still no clarity yet on how the Govt would accommodate MD & CEOs of merging public sec- tor banks as there are virtually no vacancies right now in other public sector banks. VACANCY OF CMD, BEL NEXT YEAR; ADVERTISEMENT SOON The Government of India is expected to issue advertisement in a couple of month for the post of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Bharat electronics Limited falling vacant with the retire- ment of present incumbent M V Gowtama next year in June. GOEL RELIEVED TO JOIN GOI Aashish Kumar Goel has been relieved from UP to join GoI in the Ministry of Rural Development as JS on deputation. He is a 1995 batch UP cadre IAS offi cer. NAVEEN GULATI GETS TEMP DEPUTATION TO RITES Naveen Gulati presently posted with Northern Railway has been selected for deputation to RITES as CEO, REMCL at Gurgaon for a period of six months till a regular incumbent is appointed. He is an IRSEE offi cer of 1988 batch. AIR FORCE & ITBP RECRUITMENT POSTPONED DUE TO CORONA OUTBREAK IAF has postponed the Airmen Recruitment Ex- ams, planned at 86 cities across the country from March 19 to 23, 2020 has been postponed. Simi- larly, ITBP also postponed Constables/Tradesmen recruitment written exams, scheduled on March 23,2020, was to held at 11 centres. CONG MOVES ADJOURNMENT NOTICE IN LS ‘ENACT LAW ON POPULATION CONTROL’ New Delhi: BJP member Sanjay Seth on Wednesday demanded that the government should enact a law on population control and voting right should be denied to those having more than two children. Raising the matter during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Seth said that the country will have to face long-term consequences due to growth in population. Seth, who is BJP MP from Ranchi, said India is poised to overtake China as the most populous country in 2027 and the population would touch 160 crore in the next 30 years. He said those with more than two children should be denied some government facilities and they should be denied the voting right. “A Bill should be brought to make the law,” he said. —ANI Congress MP K Suresh on Wednesday moved an adjournment motion no- tice in the Lok Sabha over the nomination of former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi to the Upper House of Parlia- ment. President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday nominated former CJI Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha. Gogoi served as the 46th CJI from October 3, 2018, to November 17, 2019. GOVT HAS DECIDED TO REVIVE BSNL AND MTNL: RS PRASAD ‘26 DIED IN ASSAM DETENTION CENTERS IN LAST 3 YEARS’ RS ADJOURNED AFTER RUCKUS OVER DIGVIJAYA’S DETENTION DELHI POLICE ACTED SWIFTLY & PROMPTLY DURING RIOTS Union Minister for Communi- cations Ravi Shankar Prasad informed the LS on Wednes- day that the govt has decided to revive BSNL and MTNL, and that it is also giving packages to employees who sought voluntary retirement. “We strongly believe that the existence of a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) like BSNL is important both for public service and also fairness in the entire system of commu- nication. BSNL had suffered bad times. In 2014-15, 2015- 16 it became a bit positive,” the Minister informed the House. “Our government has taken a conscious decision to revive both BSNL and MTNL because they do public ser- vice in fl oods, earthquake etc. Minister of State for Home Affair, Nityanand Rai informed that 26 detenues have died in detention centers, due to illness, during the last three years in Assam. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on the number of individuals who died in detention centres in Assam in last three years, Rai said, “As per the information provided by the government of Assam, 799 detenues are held in detention centers in Assam as on February 27, 2020. Out of which 95 have 3 years or more in detention. 26 detenues have died during detention period due to illness during last three years.” “In 2017--six, 2018--nine, 2019- -ten and 2020--one person died,” he said. New Delhi: RS Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday adjourned the House till 2 pm after an uproar by opposition Congress lawmakers over the detention of sitting member Digvijaya Singh by police in Karnataka’’s Bengaluru earlier in the day. While members were discussing various issues during Zero Hour, Cong mem- ber MV Rajiv Gauda mentioned Digvijaya Singh’’s detention as an ‘’urgent matter’’. The Chairman however did not allow him to press ahead. “If this is so urgent, why did you not give a notice to the Chair? You had enough time in the morning. By doing so, you are debarring other members of the chance to speak in the House,” Naidu said. New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday said in the RS that the Delhi Police acted swiftly and promptly in a professional manner during the riots held in the national capital last month, adding the high population density of the area and narrow lanes were a challenge in the movement of forces and vehicles. In a written reply in RS, Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, G. Kishan Reddy said as per reported by the Delhi Police, until March 12, 763 cases including 51 cases under Arms Act have been registered. “A total of 3,304 persons have been arrested or detained while 545 persons were injured and 52 died during the recent riots in Delhi,” he said. Shiv Sena slams Malik’s comments IN THE COURTYARD Two days before hanging, convicts move Delhi court New Delhi : In a new twist to the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, AP Singh, the counsel for the four con- victs, moved Delhi’s Pa- tiala House Court seek- ing a stay on the death warrant execution on Wednesday . With two days to go for the execution of the four accused, their law- yer claimed that he has filed a curative petition on behalf of convict Pawan Gupta in the Su- preme Court and a mer- cy petition on behalf of Akshay Singh. The curative petition filed on behalf of Pawan Gupta claims that he was a juvenile at the time of the incident. Meanwhile, another convict Akshay Kumar Singh had written a sec- ond mercy petition to President Ram Nath Ko- vind on Tuesday . NCP CHIEF SHARAD PAWAR SUMMONED Pune: The Koregaon Bhima Inquiry Commis- sion has summoned NCP chief Sharad Pawar todepose before it as a witness in the 2018 caste-violence case, the panel’’s lawyer Ash- ish Satpute said here on Wednesday. Pawar will have to appear before the commission in Mumbai, as the scheduled hearing by the com- mission was shifted there in view of coronavirus outbreak. The hearing, which was scheduled to be held in the last week of March, will now be held between March 30 and April 4. Mumbai: Shiv Sena has said that Goa’s Gov- ernor Satya Pal Malik’s recent comments about governors that they do not have much to do, and the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir usually “drinks wine and plays golf”, are a blot on the prestige of the constitutional post. “Satya Pal Malik’s comments are a blot on the prestige of the Rajb- havan (Governor’s House),” Shiva Sena’s mouthpiece editorial read. “The Goa Governor says that the Governor of Kashmir wine, which is an insult to Jammu and Kash- mir. Malik himself is a former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and what should we un- derstand from his com- ments about what he used to do when he was the Governor there,” it added. COURT PULLS UP LAWYER ON NEW PLEA TO DEFER HANGING In another manoeuvre to delay the ensu- ing death sentence slated for Friday, the death-row convicts, through their counsel AP Singh, once again knocked on the doors of the trial court seeking stay on their hanging on the grounds that their legal remedies are pending. SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO HEAR CONG MLA’S HEAR SC ADJOURNS OMAR’S PETITION Saamna The SC on Wednesday refused to hear a plea fi led by the brother of MP Cong MLA Manoj Choudhary seeking his release claim- ing that he, along with other MLAs, was being forcefully kept in captivity by BJP members and Kar- nataka police. “Today, we are in a peculiar situation. The public of the state trusted the Congress party (with 114 seats) while the BJP had won 109 seats. SC FURIOUS WITH TELECOS, CENTRE FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT OF AGR DUES The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Central government which had fi led a petition seeking staggered payment of adjusted gross revenues (AGR) dues by telecom companies. “Self-assessment of AGR payments is a sheer violation, sheer contempt,” observed the apex court and said that it will consider the govern- ment’s rescue plan on the next date of hearing. drinks JUSTICE DHARMADHIKARI IS NEW CHIEF JUSTICE OF BOMBAY HC Mumbai: Acting Chief Justice Bhushan Pradyumna Dharma- dhikari was on Wednes- day appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Bombay HC, according to an offi cial announcement. The senior most judge, Justice Dharmadhikari was appointed as acting chief justice following the retirement of Justice ‘CENTRE’S DECISIONS ON J-K WILL HAVE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES’ New Delhi: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday said the decisions of the govern- ment to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcate J&K into two union territo- ries will have long-term consequences and called upon the government to listen to the voice of its residents. Initiating the debate on supplementary HANGMAN CONDUCTS DUMMY EXECUTION AT TIHAR New Delhi: The Tihar Jail offi cials will conduct the dummy execution of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case today. Hangman Pawan has reached Tihar jail for the March 20 hanging of the convicts. Meanwhile, Pawan Kumar Gupta, one of the four convicts, on Tuesday fi led another curative petition before the Supreme Court, claiming that at the time of committing the offence, he was a minor and thereby, his death sentence should be commuted to life imprisonment. CBSE BOARD EXAMS POSTPONED OVER CORONAVIRUS New Delhi: In view of the coronavirus outbreak, the HRD ministry in a communication to various educational regulators, asked to reschedule the ongoing examinations including CBSE Board and university examinations. Centre asked for all school, university, engineering and technical en- trance exams to be postponed and to be resched- uled after March 31. After the directive, CBSE announced that the examinations scheduled from March 19 to 31 have been postponed for both Class 10 and Class 12 students. Pradeep Nandrajog, the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. A notifi ca- tion issued by Law and Justice ministry said on Wednesday: “In exercise of the power conferred by Clause (I) Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Justice Bhushan Pradyumna Dharmadhikari”. demands for grants for Jammu and Kashmir from April 1, 2019 to Oct 30, 2019, he said the deci- sions of the government to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories had been taken due to “narrow politics” and “the country will have to bear long-term conse- quences”.

9. SPORTS AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020 09 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 KEEP YOUR COOL IN THE CORONA CRISIS After the cancellation of major events due to the corona pandemic, many players have started posting messages and updates on social media to share their mantra to battle tough times Act responsibly to keep COVID-19 at bay: Sachin Kohli and co. spread awareness to battle virus ensure we all stay safe,” Tendulkar tweet- ed. “We all are wor- ried due to coronavi- rus. But there are some points that we should keep in mind like not going to crowded places,” Ten- dulkar said in a video posted on Twitter. “If you are coughing or not feeling well, then you must visit the nearest doctor.” he added. vigilant and most im- portantly remember, prevention is better than cure. Please take care everyone.” Rohit Sharma also posted a video of himself in which he asked people to be “a little smart, a little proactive” and in- form the medical authorities as soon as they get any symptoms. He also lauded the ef- forts of medical pro- fessionals who have been in the frontline of the bat- tle against the virus. New Delhi: Legend- ary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar Wednesday made an appeal to fellow coun- trymen to follow the basic guidelines is- sued by the health ministry to keep cor- onavirus at bay . Stressing on the im- portance of hygiene, the Master Blaster also advised everyone to wash hands regularly and practice social dis- tancing for a few days to fight the disease. “ As citizens, we have to act responsibly . We could follow simple steps to keep the Corona Vi- rus at bay . It is my request to everyone to follow basic guide- lines to try our best to The New cricketing world has come to a standstill due to the coronavi- rus outbreak which means that the mem- bers of the Indian cricket team have got a break from their un- relenting schedule. Away from the crick- et field, the players have been posting messages and up- dates on social media. Captain Virat Koh- li said, “Let’s stay strong and fight the #COVID19 outbreak by taking all precau- t i o n a r y measures. Stay safe, be Delhi: on nearest Rani Rampal advises fans to wash hands regularly Halep donates equipment to help corona fight in Romania —ANI New Delhi: Indian women’s hockey team skipper Rani Rampal on Wednesday advised fans to wash hands regularly to help keep coronavirus infection at bay . Accepting the Safe Hands Challenge from ace athlete Hima Das and sand-artist Sudar- san Pattnaik, Rampal posted a video showing a tutorial on how to wash hands properly . “I accept #SafeHandsChallenge from @sudar- sansand @HimaDas8 I request everyone to take precautions and #StaySafe. I further challenge @SjoerdMarijne @waynelombard @boxervijender @KarmanThandi @geeta_ phogat @BabitaPhogat @Sangram_Sanjeet to make sure people around you stay safe,” Rampal tweeted. She further challenged women’s team head coach Sjoerd Marijne, boxer Vijender Singh, wrestler Geeta Phogat, Babita Phogat, and three more to take the Safe Hands Challenge. Rampal had said that the team has been training like before, but the players are strict- ly following all the preventive measures ad- vised by the doctors and the coaching staff. New Delhi: “We are so grateful for the brav- ery of our medical workers at these difficult times. I am committed to helping my country and have decided to donate medical equip- ment,” Halep said in a tweet. “This is the perfect opportunity to show that we know how to be supportive and re- sponsible with our lives and those around us,” Halep told fans in a video message posted on her official Facebook page.“While we are at home, doctors and medical personnel make huge efforts to treat and save each life by ex- posing themselves for the general good...” “I decided to donate a sum of money for the pur- chase of the necessary equipment and materi- als in such situations, the amount that will be directed immediately to the medical authori- ties in Bucharest and Constanta,” she added. “I encourage everyone who can to contribute to the joint efforts to combat this virus. In the meantime, let us all take care of ourselves, be responsible and stay positive!” Apart from Halep, Bianca Andreescu and Caty McNally both have donated their signed tennis rac- quets to benefit ‘Athletes For Relief’. —Agencies —ANI —ANI Wimbledon still planning for play despite virus mayhem Tokyo Olympics training fraught with virus fears: Dutee IPL 2020: BCCI explores July-Sept window for IPL ‘Players’ safety compromised at All England last week’ ber 4. A roof has been installed over Roland Garros’ centre court, Philippe Chatrier, with floodlights on the three other main courts, ena- bling play to go on later. Wimbledon remain hopeful that play at the grass-court tournament will be able to go ahead if the spread of the vi- rus is slowed. —Agencies aware the sporting sched- ule has been decimated by the deadly pandemic. French Open bosses on Tuesday revealed the clay-court event will move from its sched- uled spring slot to Sep- tember. The year’s sec- ond Grand Slam was due to begin on May 24, but will now run from September 20 to Octo- New Delhi: Wimbledon organisers planning to play the Grand Slam this year, despite the coronavirus chaos that led the French Open to be pushed back until Sep- tember. Wimbledon is sched- uled to run from June 29 to July 12, but All Eng- land Club chiefs are are still New Delhi: After bat- tling in court to be able to run and fighting dis- crimination when she came out as gay, Indian sprinter Dutee Chand now has to overcome the fear of training in a pan- demic to maintain her Olympic hopes. Chand, who was banned from competing internation- ally because of the hy- perandrogenism gene condition, wants the Tokyo Games to go ahead even if she has not yet made the wom- en’s 100 metre qualify- ing time of 11.15sec. But running close to other Indian athletes fraught as the deadly coronavirus across the country . New Delhi: Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal accused the sport’s administrators of placing money above players’ safety by continuing last week’s All Eng- land Championships despite the COVID-19 pandemic. “Only thing I can think of is that rather than the players welfare n feelings, fi- nancial reasons were given more importance. Otherwise there was no other reason for the #AllEng- landOpen2020 to go on last week,” she tweeted. The 30-year-old lost in the open- ing round of the marquee event, which was among a handful which continued even as the bulk of global sporting calendar was either postponed or can- celled. Mumbai: The BCCI has postponed the IPL 2020 until April 15 but there is no real clarity or cer- tainty whether the tour- nament could take place even after that date be- cause there is no news of any drastic improve- ment in health condi- tions because of still prevailing coronavirus. There have been re- ports about BCCI ex- ploring the April-May window to hold the IPL 2020 but a report in an english daily stated that the governing body could be looking seri- ously at a more practi- cal July-September 2020 window. powered by Ru- bicon Project A section in BCCI feels that the April-May could be too tricky be- cause there is no assur- ance of the Coronavi- rus peaking out in this timespan and if they explore the July-Sep- tember window there is the possibility of the pandemic’s effect wan- ing. is —Agencies spreads FROM PG 1 NCP’s only... so that he does not need to indulge in cross-vot- ing if the party issues him a whip to vote for the Congress candi- dates. Even if he does not join and votes for the BJP candidates, it will be a blow to the Congress-NCP tions. Kandhal is in a Catch 22 Sources claim that if he does not support the BJP, he fears he can be chased by police for many cases pending against him. too gets the required numbers. Else, he too will be in jeopardy,” added the leader. wanted to play a larger role in BJP in the fu- ture. In the 2017 assem- bly elections, despite the backing of three stalwarts, Dilip Sang- hani, Mansukh Manda- via, and Parshottam Rupala, the BJP was routed in Amreli dis- trict. There is near-vac- uum of strong Patidar leaders in the Saurash- tra region with the BJP. Kakadia is likely to get a bigger role in the up- coming local body polls with many conditions.” party faced due to their in-fighting. “If the nom- ination of even one of the two is withdrawn, it would further dent the party’s reputation,” a leader close to the devel- opment told First India. “And, from the point of view of the numbers, even the BJP’s third candidate is falling short of a few votes. So it was decided that both, Gohil and would contest,” he add- ed. However, more re- sponsibility is on Solan- ki. “Now Solanki has to make sure that number one votes go to Gohil from the MLAs and he to BJP could come in handy for him,” anoth- er reliable source from Bhavnagar said. While Mangal Gavit, who resigned from the Dangs, had won with a very thin margin and there are slim chances that he could win again. “So, for him warming up to the ruling BJP is only logical from his in- dividual point of view,” a South Gujarat leader said. JV Kakadia, for- mer Dhari legislator whose wife had claimed that works of Opposi- tion MLAs were not be- ing done and so he quit. “The reason is Kakadia the candidates may win. The first seat will go to Gohil and the sec- ond to Solanki, but the latter, who is also the son of former chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki, would have to ensure his victory on the strength of the goodwill of his father. Meanwhile, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel has claimed that more Congress MLAs are set to resign from the party . According to sources, both the candidates were reprimanded by Sonia Gandhi over the embarrassment rus pandemic. The agency had earli- er projected a growth rate of 5.7 per cent during the 2020 calendar year. Asia-Pacific eco- nomic growth in 2020 will more than halve to less than 3 per cent as the “global economy en- ters a recession”, S&P said in a statement. Banking and telecom stocks came heavy selling pressure after the Supreme Court pulled up the telecom companies for doing self-assessment of the AGR dues fixed by the apex court in its verdict on October 24 last year. SC asks... submitted before the court that it is wrong that MLAs were kidnapped or abducted and all allega- tions of coercion are rub- bish. “They resigned out of their own free will. A direction be issued to the Speaker to accept their resignations,” insisted Singh. rela- window situation. under Solanki, Corona takes... saying the global econo- my is entering a reces- sion amid the coronavi- Finally, Congress... and with the support of Jignesh Mewani, both Story behind... May be the switch-over the —Agencies

10. Sharing is necessary and a crucial part of human growth chart, I believe every responsible human should share the knowledge he has. 2NDFRONT —Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India 10 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 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 GUJARAT RS ARITHMETIC WILL FINALLY DEPEND ON POLLING Each candidate must get 35 votes but pol parties have allocated 36 or more votes to each RS polls: MLAs in Raj learn to vote Gargi Raval Guj HC lets Hindus sell property to Muslims First India News PROTEST AGAINST DEFECTORS Gandhinagar: It isn’t just the students who prepare ahead of the board exams, even MLAs have to do their homework and pre- pare before appear- ing for another test of sorts -- this time it is the Rajya Sabha election. According to highly sources, the Gujarat Congress legislators camping in Jaipur are working practicing how to vote correctly in the Rajya Sabha elec- tions on March 26. “It is a well-known fact that the leaders and the candidates cannot address or motivate the members. That is why two observers, who have come from Delhi, are teaching them how to vote correctly. They are practicing and do- ing mock polls under the observation for two to three times every day,” said a source. They are given a speech by the leaders for one and a half hours daily and then there are sessions for motivation. Ahmedabad: The Guja- rat High Court quashed the January 2017 order of the Vadodara deputy collector and the Special Secretary Revenue De- partment (SSRD) that rejected an application moved by Hindu shopkeepers, seeking permission to transfer their property to Muslims buyers. Dated March 9, judg- ment by Justice Biren Vaishnav states that the deputy collector’s refus- al to assent to the trans- fer of property and the SSRD’s order upholding this rejection “clearly contrary to the provisions of the Act”. The transfer had been contested under the Dis- turbed Areas Act.Dinesh Hiralal Modi and Deepa- kbhai Hiralal wanted to sell their prop- erty to buyer-petitioners Onali Ezazuddin Dhol- kawala and Iqbal Hus- sain Asgar Ali Tinwala. However, since property is situated in “a dis- turbed area”, Dholkawa- la and Tinwala moved an application, which was rejected by dy collector. months WHAT CAN CHANGE VOTE COUNTING AT THE LAST MINUTE? the (Appeals) placed and Meanwhile, from Jaipur and Delhi are meeting them. “Ses- sions are being con- ducted and people are being asked to sink their differences. How- ever, leaders Arjun Modhwadia and Sid- dharth Patel have nothing much to do and they are just mute spectators, since they are neither contesting nor are MLAs. The gossip about whose political career will end with the RS election is on,” said a source from Shiv Vilas Hotel in Jaipur. leaders were Haresh Jhala his support the party’s number will be 69. If the Congress allocates 40 votes to its first candi- date Shaktisinh Gohil, it will have 29 votes for the second candidate Bhar- atsinh Solanki. Con- gress candidate will have three votes more than BJP’s third candi- date in the first round. In such a situation, Congress may have the upper hand over MISCALCULATION OF TIME OR CALCULATED MISS BY CHIEF WHIP First India News BJP’s third candi- date. But all this arithmetics will de- pend on total votes polled on the day, March 26. If BJP wants to get its third candidate elected to Rajya Sab- ha, the only option left with it is to get minimum four and maximum six Con- gress MLAs to do cross-voting. Party’s two MLAs ex- tend support to BJP , its tally will touch 106. Now, if it allocates 40 votes each to its first two candidates Abhay Bhardwaj and Ramila- ben Bara, only 26 votes are left for the party’s third candi- date Narhari Amin. On the other side, the Congress strength is 68 and if Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani extends dates are in fray for four seats. Each candidate must get a minimum of 35 votes but political par- ties are learnt to have allocated 36 or more votes to each. The BJP has fielded three candidates and its own strength is 103 MLAs. If it is assumed that that Nationalist Congress Party’s one and Bharatiya Tribal Gandhinagar: The Ra- jya Sabha elections may appear to be an uphill task for the Congress, but the BJP too is not on a firm wicket given the num- bers it has. Five Con- gress MLAs have re- signed bringing down the total tally of the State Assembly to 175, while five candi- Modi HOMESCHOOLING? Speaker turns teacher First India News Tata made just 817 Nano cars in two years First India News Institute in Bhuj loses accreditation First India News JADEJA KO GUSSA KYON AATA HAI? Ahmedabad: “Please raise your hands, if you know how many people attended the Seva Setu yakram.” You’d be for- given for thinking this was an exchange be- tween a schoolteacher and her class. Howev- er, this is an excerpt from the interaction between Speaker Ra- jendra Trivedi and the MLAs in attendance at the State Assembly on Wednesday . While MLAs stayed away for the second consecutive day , the Speaker took on the mantle of school- teacher, pointedly an- nouncing--like a teach- er--that he was talking to BJP MLAs, and not ministers. Trivedi even took senior-most MLA and deputy chief minister Nitin Patel to task, asking, “Given that The Ahmedabad: The Gu- jarat Education Depart- ment has decided to re- voke the accreditation of Shri Girls’ Institute (SSGI) in Kutch’s Bhuj, in the wake of the incident in which female students were allegedly asked to prove that they were not menstruating. Gujarat Chief Minis- ter Vijay Rupani and the National Women’s Commission had both called for an investiga- tion into the alleged in- cident, which was re- ported in mid-February , and strict action. In this regard, Vice-Chancellor of Kutch University Dr Darshanaben Dholakia on Wednesday, said, “We have received ver- bal instruction from the Education Department that the accreditation of the college has been revoked.” Gandhinagar: state government in- formed the House on Wednesday that Tata Motors Ltd has pro- duced just 817 Nano cars in the last two years. CM Vijay Rupani in response to MLA Vimal Chudsama’s query stat- ed that, in 2018, the com- pany had produced 516 Nano cars; in 2019, pro- duction dropped to just 301. He added that the government had re- ceived no information that the company has stopped production of Nano cars at its Sanand manufacturing plant, which became opera- tional in April 2010. The company has a period of 21 years to repay the Rs 456.79 crore loan ex- tended by the state gov- ernment, which has no intention to recover the amount before its in- tended duration. Gandhinagar: Every- one in the State As- sembly wants to know whether chief whip miscalcu- lated the time sched- ule or chose a “calcu- lated miss” to keep Water Resources Min- ister and Congress turncoat Bavaliya from reply- ing to a query on his department’s budget proposal on Tuesday evening. Bavaliya had risen to reply on the discussion just as the MLAs con- cluded their sugges- tions on water resourc- es and transport and other departments, when Speaker Rajen- dra Trivedi intervened reminding that he had only a minute to speak since it was almost 8pm. When the minister said he couldn’t com- Kar- the BJP Sahjanand people used to waste three to four days run- ning around for their documents, how many labour hours has the government saved by giving people access to their documents under one roof?” Patel said that the hours could not be counted, but esti- mated the figure to be in “crores”. When Patel said the system was an im- provement on that of the earlier govern- ment, the Speaker in- terrupted him with “Earlier government means what?” forcing him to name the Con- gress government in the state. Kunwarji Bawalia Pankaj Desai Kunvarji ply time in his time slot submitted to the Speak- er. Desai then apolo- gized to Bavaliya. However, some BJP MLAs—who request- ed anonymity since they were sharing confidential informa- tion—told First India that this was done in- tentionally means to get back at Bavaliya, whom there are many complaints, including that he discriminates against BJP leaders and workers in his constituency. plete his reply in un- der a minute, the Speaker replied, “I cannot give you more time because, as per Chief Whip Pankaj Desai’s time slot, the day’s session is to conclude by 8pm,” be- fore proceeding to put the Water Resources department’s budget proposal to a vote. Sources Trivedi later met with Bavaliya and Desai in his chambers, where the chief whip revealed that he had not calcu- lated the minister’s re- Congress as a say that against Answer sheets of class 10 found on state highway, 400 still missing First India News ing taken for granted by the department. In another case in Mehsana district, at one paper checking center, children were found arranging an- swer sheets, this has sparked a row over chil- dren being compelled to work when the state had directed to shut educational institutes down due to Coronavi- rus. The District Educa- tion Officer has issued a notice demanding an explanation from the center head regarding the same. ficer also informed that there are seven zones in the state, so the answer sheets are transferred to these zones where at a com- mon centre, sheets are checked by teachers. State spokesman Doshi has alleged that this is negligence on the part of the state educa- tion department, they are playing with the fu- ture of the students, who work hard day in and out for almost a year, their future is be- These answer sheets are of students who ap- peared from Mehsana district, it car- ries the date of March 7 and are of subjects Gu- jarati, Science Technology . Chief Minister Vi- jay Rupani has or- dered Ahmedabad Crime branch probe the State Education Minis- ter Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and the ed- ucation department swung into action and rushed the Board secre- tary (Exams) to Rajkot education ment and two police constables are ap- pointed. So criminal complaints will be lodged against the re- sponsible. Board Chairman AJ Shah has assured the state that all students will be given justice, Wednesday morning, Shah admitted that three bags of answer sheets had fallen off the truck, which were later traced. Still, 400 answer sheets are missing, and the board is looking for them. The board of- depart- CM ORDERS PROBE the Rajkot: morning bought a big shock for the state when a video from Rajkot district went viral showing Class 10 board examination answer sheets found lying on the state highway near Jetpur and some near Gondal town. The State Sec- ondary and Higher Secondary Education Board have admitted that 400 sheets are still miss- ing. Wednesday the and Congress Manish to matter. to examine the issue and file a report. Chu- dasama, later in the evening, told reporters that a probe will be sponsible ment employees as with each vehicle car- rying answer sheet, two officials of the govern- initiated by the edu- cation department. At the same time, po- lice too have begun action against re- answer

11. 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 19, 2020 Welcoming ‘LIVA Miss Diva 2020 Runner-Up’ Neha Jaiswal back to the Pink City NEHAL NAYAR nehal.nayar@firstindia.co.in S tarted her journey from the Pink City back in 2016, Neha Jaiswal returned to the city once again after bagging the title of ‘LIVA Miss Diva 2020 Runner-Up’, on Wednesday. Hailing from Pune, Maha- rashtra, Neha was an Architecture student in Jaipur, with a great passion for being a part of the glamorous in- dustry . In an exclusive interview with City First, she opened up about her journey, and how she feels to have started it from ‘Gulabi Nagri’. On asking about how it feels to have bagged the title, Neha stated, “I believe that the former winners of the title have achieved so much more than I have, and I just want to work harder and don’t want it to get to my head and think that it’s something big that I have done.” Talking about the journey , she said, “The journey has been quite long. My first pageant was back in 2016 when I had participated in Elite Miss Rajasthan, which I eventually won. After this, I wait- ed for 3 years to concentrate on my Ar- chitecture degree which I had been stud- ying in Jaipur, and after that is when I pursued my dream of participating in a national-level beauty pageant.” She add- ed, “I completed my course and dedicated the entire 4-6 months to my preparations for this pageant. Had I been doing this along with my college, I’m sure I wouldn’t have achieved as much as I have achieved now.” ‘Elite Miss Rajasthan’ is the brand of Gaurav Gaur which has sent many glamorous faces of Rajasthan to national pageants across, and made a name for the brand in Rajasthan and India. Differentiating herself from the other contestants at the pageant, Neha mentioned, “Somewhere I feel that my Army upbringing and the Defence background does play a major role in my performance everywhere. It makes you adapt to situations very quickly and you’re more open to situations in difficult times.” “I believe that Jaipur is really lucky for me, as this is where I started my jour- ney in this career, and despite the fact that Coronavirus is at its peak, it was important for me to come back to this city , for the beau- tiful memories and career it has given me,” she added. ARTFUL GRACE! Jagdeesh Chandra launched the poster of ‘Elite Miss Rajasthan 2020’ at Fort Jaipur on Wednesday evening, at a selective gathering. Seen here with him are (from left) Neha Jaiswal, Akanksha Bhalla, Sonaxi Chanana, Mona Gautam and Gaurav Gaur. Neha Jaiswal —PHOTOS BY MUKESH KIRADOO BEING COMPETITIVE FEARING JANHVI A people from the industry, and that she considers ‘Dhadak’ star Janhvi Kapoor her big- gest competition. Talking about the debate around nepotism, Ananya said, “I still agree that we have an advantage and we get to meet people. We have easier access to people from the in- dustry as we have grown up around them. But now that I’ve got that chance, it’s unfair for me to waste it. I want to make my father proud.” “There are so many exam- ples of such talented people who have not come from the film background like Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma and then there are actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt who have come from film fam- ilies and done so well. So, it all comes down to the audience,” she added. B Aur Woh’. She feels blessed to see her work getting noticed by people, and now she wants to compete with herself to do better on screen. “My journey in cinema has re- cently begun and I feel blessed and fortunate that my work has got no- ticed by some of the best film-makers of the industry. I’m thrilled about my performances being highlighted. As an actor, I can only aspire to do better from here on. I want to compete with myself and do better with each film,” Bhumi said. She added, “It has been an incredible year for sure and I have to thank my incredible directors for choosing me to be a part of their vision. Their confidence in me is a huge validation for an artist like me who wants to be a part of the best films that are being made today. I’m cherishing this moment and all the success and it is making me a lot more motivated to only do better work and deliver better performances on-screen.” Bhumi will next be seen in ‘Dur- gavati’ and ‘Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare’. humi Pednekar has been on a roll as she has had a series of hit films, such as ‘Saand Ki Aankh’, ‘Bala’ and ‘Pati, Patni nanya Pandey feels that star kids have an advantage as they have easier access to Ananya Panday Bhumi Pednekar —IANS —IANS

12. HOLLYWOOD AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020 Quarantine Mood 12 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 ‘Black Widow’ DELAYED! F ollowing the de- lay of several Hollywood mov- ies and events, Disney has now pushed back the release date of Widow’ growing concerns of cor- onavirus. The Scarlett Johansson’s starrer su- perhero movie has been pushed to an undeter- mined future date. The much anticipated Marvel flick was supposed to hit the big screens on April 30 in India, and May 1 in the US. Helmed by Cate Short- land ‘Black Widow’ is the latest studio release to be pushed due to the coro- navirus pandemic. The Universal studio has also moved the ninth PEACE LOVER! A er Lady Gaga shared insights from her quarantine on social media. Gaga on Wednesday took to Insta- gram to share the de- tails of her sixth day of quarantine by sharing a picture with her boyfriend Michael Po- lansky . She explained in the caption that she is spending the day by playing video games and cards and tak- ing care of herself and her boyfriend. s the outbreak of coro- navirus leaves celebri- ties homebound, many of them including sing- ‘Black amid to Avenger. The film depicts the life events of Natasha Romanoff ing the time be- tween the film narratives Captain Ameri- ca: Civil War (2016) and Avengers: End- game (2018). a world-saving ‘Fast & Furious’ film from May this year to April 2021, while Para- mount studio pushed ahead of the release of ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ just eight days before its scheduled release. Johansson has played Black Widow, a major role in seven Marvel movies, tracking her evo- lution from morally du- bious Russian assassin upcoming dur- sixth day of quarantine by sharing a picture with of ... her Instagram post —ANI Lady Gaga M by not one, but four of famous friends - Ser- ena Williams, Kendall Jenner, Blake Lively and Taylor Swift. In the interview that ap- pears in a magazine, tioned the post. “#selflove #selfcare #bekind try not to pass it in case you have it #corona it’s ok and so wonder- ful to stay home if you can! What a kind act for the world,” she add- ed. Globally, 184,976 people have been infected, while 7,529 have died from COVID-19, as per the latest available data on the World Health (WHO) website. “Day 6 of self- quarantining! Go- ing strong, playing video games and cards, and taking care of ourselves. Important minder: keep your mind as stress- free as possible and your body moving,” she cap- Yolanda Pennsylvania prop- erty and how it re- minds her of the ‘sim- ple pleasures’ of life. “The farm has re- ally made me remem- ber, and bring back to my life, my most sim- ple pleasures. It’s al- lowed me to fill my days off with the little things that make me happy , like art, gardening, yoga, cooking, being outside, and spend- ing time with my loved ones and ani- mals. Being away from the city and the public eye makes me feel like a kid again, and that freedom has been really healing for me,” said Gigi. —IANS Hadid’s Gigi revealed several unknown facts of her life. Among interest- ing things her fans got to know is that the model actually pre- fers rural tranquillity over life in the fast lane of the big cities. She said she enjoys being at her mother odel Hadid was recently in- terviewed Gigi re- Organisation —ANI VANESSA on TikTok V video App TikTok as anessa Hudg- ens made her debut on the Chinese short she shared a clip o h e r - self rec- reating an iconic ‘High School Mu- sical scene’. The tress tribute to Dis- ney franchise with her debut post on the video sharing site. Following in the footsteps of co-star and pal Ashley Tisdale, the 31-year-old actress shared a side-by-side post of the clips as she per- formed the song while pouring a glass of wine with it. “Well. It’s come to this. Lol @ashleytisdale maybe I start getting into tik tok? Username is vanessahudgens not vanessahudgens0 okay by- eeee,” Vanessa wrote in the caption. f ac- paid Gigi Hadid Scarlett Johansson Vanessa Hudgens —IANS 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 Good profi ts will come today from your business. You may be able to undo what you did wrong in the past by doing good today. Your lover may plan an exotic evening for you. You will do something good to make your parents feel proud. Your promotion time is near so do your best. Remember live on your terms and conditions and let none in this world defi ne who you are and how you should live life. You are blessed with a wonderful life partner. You are tough and strong and you don’t feel defeated easily. Young scorpios must stand for their self respect. You may move into a new house soon. You may have to take some decision regarding your future today. Getting married soon is on cards for some. Maintain cordial relationship at workplace with everyone so remain on the neutral pace. You may travel a lot and it will be really refreshing for you. Your dear friend may take on a paid trip to some where far for the sole purpose of rejuvenation. On social front, you have friends like family. You may feel attracted to someone who can be your potential life partner. On professional front you need to think out of box to be in the limelight. LEO JUL Y 24 - AUGUST 23 You will experience the almost peace at home today. You must stop worrying about those who doesn’t care about you. You guidance will cure someone of their illness. Theses days you are attracting money from every single direction. Your strategy will work for promoting your business. VIRGO AUG 24 - SEP 23 LIBRA SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22 You will be in a romantic mood today and your lover will like this for a change so have fun. You will devote some serious time to pursuing your hobby. On fi nancial front, you will get returns from old investments. You will help your spouse in domestic chores today. SCORPIO OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22 You will get what you have been asking for a long time. Your parents may give you some money to start with something new. You may pay extra attention today to your dressing. Those of you going a job interview will nail it. Financially you will take all the right decisions today. You will maintain all the peace that you require on the home front. You will be busy in some kind of customising work. You will be easily able to relax and take full rest today since you managed to complete all your work in advance. You may have a very strong desire to buy a very expensive thing. SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 - DEC 22 Some of you may strongly feel to do something right today. On academic front, you will devote many hours to studies today to prepare for some test or exam. You will focus on your career like never before as you have set a goal for yourself recently. You will feel spiritually inclined today. CAPRICORN DEC 23 - JAN 20 You will be really excited to meet your lover today after a short break. On academic front, you will surprise everyone with an outstanding performance. Life is beautiful for you as you always look for the half glass full. You may save to buy something for someone. AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 19 PISCES FEB20 - MARCH 20 Today you may get the success in professional life for which which you have been waiting forever. You believe in competition for the sake of self improvement.Your friends are a blessing for you and they are with you no matter what and when. You may put your work on hold to enjoy with family. You may sell or purchase some property today for the business purpose. You may go on a long drive with your lover. You are a good businessman and even fi ner parent. Keep a check on expenses as you tend to buy things unnecessarily sometimes. You will love the environment at home today. VARSHA JESWANI, Model

13. ETC AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 202013 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 QUARANTINE? NO PROBLEM! D lenge! #COVID19 surely is an uphill health and public safety task, but all of us are in this fight together! I fur- ther nominate @roger- federer,@Cristiano and @ imVkohli to take up this challenge! #coronavirus #StaySafe.” Following her ‘Produc- tivity in the time of COV- ID-19!’ series, Deepika Padukone on Wednesday spent her second day of quarantine by pampering herself with love. Padu- kone shared a short video on her Instagram story massaging her face with a facial massager shared a still picture from the same as a post. “Season 1:Episode 2 Pro- ductivity in the time of COVID-19!” she captioned the post and hashtags of self love and self care with it. eepika Padukone took the Hands Challenge’ and shared a vid- eo where she is seen washing her hands. The actor took the challenge as the Director-General of the World Health Organiza- tion, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, nominated her for the challenge amid the coronavirus pandemic. The actor took to Twitter as she shared a video, while she is seen wearing a mask while she shows the hand- washing technique. At the end of the video, after washing her hands prop- erly , Deepika is seen wink- ing at the camera as she wipes her hands using a towel. She captioned the post as, “Thank You @DrT- edros, for nominating me for the #SafeHands Chal- ‘Safe Still from her Twitter post and added ... her Instagram post —ANI Deepika Padukone The Appreciated EFFORTS KEEPING FIT @ HOME #CORONAEFFECT I Kaif has shared some amaz- ing workout exercises you all can do at home, amid the COVID-19 lockdown. Taking to her Instagram account, Katrina posted a couple of her workout vide- os. She is seen performing squats, pushups and situps along with her trainer Yas- min Karachiwala at her ter- race. “#WorkoutatHome Can’t go to the gym so sharing the workout that Yas and I did at home. Stay safe and be ac- tive if u can. 1. Squat & Side Leg Lifts - 3 sets x 20 reps; 2. Reverse Lunge - 3 sets x 15 reps; 3. Situp - 3 sets x 20 reps; 4. Pushup - 3 sets x 15 reps (you can substitute with in- cline pushups or knee push- ups); 5. Plank to f you are missing your gym sessions due to coro- navirus outbreak, don’t worry. Actress Katrina S scare, and lauded the efforts taken by the Indian officials to combat the spread of the virus. The 34-year-old actor document- ed her experience of flying back to India from London on Instagram sto- ries. She started the video by thank- ing everybody at the airport, and the ones on the flight for a ‘smooth and responsibly done’ journey . The actor also addressed how she and her husband was surprised to see not much of a screening hap- pening back in London. She fur- ther detailed about how after landing onam K Ahuja with hus- band Anand Ahuja re- turned to India from Lon- don, amid the Coronavirus in India, before immigration, they were asked to fill a form that took a past 25-day travel history. She, Anand and sport-boy, who is like a ‘family’ to her, were checked for their temperatures, which were ‘fine’. Sonam also lauded the incredible ways in which the authori- ties and the govern- ing bodies are han- dling the situation. —ANI ‘T’ - 3 sets x 15 reps; Mountain Climbers - 4 slow and 15 tempo x 3 sets,” Katrina wrote. Katrina’s workout videos come after the shut- down of gyms in several ar- eas, including Delhi and Ma- harashtra, in the wake of coronavirus scare. 6. her Sonam K Ahuja Katrina Kaif —IANS WAKE-UP PEOPLE! sitting cooped-up in their homes and apartments for weeks or months on end. Feel their helplessness, despera- tion, and claustrophobia. It could be YOU tomorrow. Un- derstand how this pandemic has destroyed a part or whole of everyone’s wealth instant- ly . FOLKS BEWARE! Mother Nature has lost its patience. STOP AND THINK. DON’T JUST STAND & STARE! Stop electing people on emotive is- sues. SET THE NARRA- TIVE. Ask for the best health services and highest educa- tion. Shun the warmongers. Come on the streets if de- ceived. If not, these streets will lie empty one day. LIS- TEN TO THE GONG AND WAKE UP! tudes and call all such issues a ‘HOAX’? For how long will politi- cians use religion and race to feed their bloated egos and keep us in permanent strife? For how long will they let us over-populate our towns and cities like rabbits, with- out a thought for civic amen- ities? For how long will the rab- ble-rousers set the false nar- rative and divisive agenda? FOR HOW LONG? On the other hand, we the people, take everything for granted- partying, shopping, travel, movies, sports, and much more. Each person is getting so self-centered, we may implode. Imagine the hundreds of millions now RAINU SINGH cityfirst@firstindia.co.in T around us for long. WHY I SCREAM, WHY? There are thousands of hy- potheses and conspiracy theories floating around about this highly destructive pandemic. But what we all collectively choose to ignore is this: For how long can the so-called ‘Visionary’ leaders of the world turn a ‘Blind he world has been caught sleeping and oblivious to nature stirring restlessly all To stay safe from the outbreak of deadly Coronavirus in the country, everyone is seeking safety measures, may it be a commoner or a celebrity. Setting good examples of social distancing and isolation, Karisma Kapoor was spotted chilling at home, Sharad Kelkar was seen spending time with his family, and Jeetendra Kapoor was snapped spending a lovely time with his grandson Lakshya.  machines instead of R&D on health and funds for educa- tion and action against glob- al warming? For how long will the elec- torate let these Leaders sit in Palatial State Houses and mouth hypocritical plati- Eye’ to this assault on na- ture? For how long can mankind gouge the resources from the earth, as if they are limit- less? For how long will resourc- es be diverted towards war

14. CITY BUZZ AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 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 That Cannes Feeling! CITY FIRST H MASKING IT ear the words Cannes Film Festival and, chances are, you’re first thoughts are about what celebrities wear to the world-fa- mous cinema extrava- ganza. But then, you’re not Ahmedabad-based writer-di- rector Neeraj Mecwan. Neeraj is waiting on pins and needles for April, to hear from the selection committee on whether his directorial de- but Rosogulla will find a place among the coveted 10 spots re- served for short films. “ A delayed train leads a man to an unusual activity, which then causes extreme feelings of guilt and awkwardness,” reads the synopsis of the short that runs just 7.44 minutes, but fea- tures Bollywood veteran Rajesh Sharma, popular Bengali ac- tress Mousumi Bhattacharya and child actor Harshil Das. Neeraj says the strong script helped keep the budget low. “Rajesh Sharma did the pro- ject for free. He liked the script, and so asked me to schedule filming around the time he was planning to be in Kolkata for a family event,” says the film- buff who worked in the radio industry for several years be- CITY FIRST W est, to see if there were any DIY options. Boy, did it deliver! Appar- ently, all you need is fabric, a pat- tern, a couple of pieces of elastic and mad sewing skills. We broke it down the process to make it easier for you to make your own masks. We can’t promise they’ll protect you from Coronavi- rus, but they seem dependable enough to keep out the dust. If nothing else, think of this as some- thing to do while you practise so- cial distancing. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com STEP 1: Locate some fabric. You can use as many layers as you want, but try not to put in so many that you keep ALL the air out. ith illness in the air and shops running out of masks, we turned to the ever-helpful Pinter- STEP 2: Draw out a pattern. We’ve included one we found online. STEP 3: Place pattern on each layer of fabric and cut. At this stage, your layers should be slightly larger than the fi nal product in your mind. favourite sweet,” Neeraj says. He calls the experience “net practice” for his bigger goal of directing a feature film soon. In the meantime, he’s finishing production on another short film and keeping his fingers crossed for April. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com sense of cinema,” he says, when asked what it was like to work with family . Harsh Shah edited the film, while Prathmesh Bhatt gave its music. At its foundation, the film is about money, and how it can be used to “buy both a woman’s body and a child’s fore turning creative producer for Gujarati cinema’s first sci- fi film, ‘Short Circuit’. The film was shot on the Black Magic 6k camera by ‘Chhello Divas’ cin- ematographer Alex Mecwan. “Besides being my cousin, Alex is a brilliant cinematog- rapher and I really like his STEP 4: Sew them all together, and add elastic to make them wearable. If you have the time (we know you do!), you may decorate your fi nished project to suit your personal aesthetic. STEP 5: Forget where you put your brand-new mask and set about making another. Or just make more to give your loved ones. guided the participants, who tried their hand at eggless cakes of various flavours. Not only were the results stunning, but they were also delicious, with generous toppings that ranged from chocolate to fruit and nuts. Participants were treated to live demos for seven cakes and learnt recipes for 11 kinds, in- cluding finger millet choco- chip cake, gluten-free cake, multigrain cake, Healthy Nu- tella whole-wheat marble cake, dry fruit slice, whole-wheat brownies, choco orange whole- wheat cake and even a healthy version of that cream-cheese laden guilty pleasure, red vel- vet cake. cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com CITY FIRST W Ahmedabad, cake is per- haps one of the few joys left to us. Ok, maybe that’s a little dramat- ic, but so were the cakes that result- ed from a recent CITY FIRST W Ahmedabad, cake is per- haps one of the few joys left to us. Ok, maybe that’s a little dramat- ic, but so were the cakes that result- ed from a recent cake-making cake-making ith most forms of outdoor tainment here here ith most forms of outdoor tainment enter- shut shut enter- in in There’s ALWAYS time for CAKE! w o r k s h o p hosted city-based pH designs. Rakshita Mehta from I n d o r e w o r k s h o p hosted city-based by by