Night curfew extended, now in place in 36 towns and cities

First India Bureau

Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Vijay Rupa-ni’s government on Tuesday evening de-cided to extend night curfew until May 12, and added Deesa, An-kleshwar, Vapi, Moda-sa, Radhanpur, Kadi and Visnagar to the list of towns and cities un-der the purview of

curbs put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19. With this, night curfew is now in effect in 36 towns and cities from 8 pm to 6 am.

CM Rupani took the decision during a high-level meeting on Tues-day, in keeping with the latest guidelines issued by the Union Home Ministry, officials said.

The state govern-ment also announced restrictions in these 36 cities, including the closure of restaurants, swimming pools, cine-ma halls, shopping complexes and water parks, until 12 May.

It also announced curbs on APMCs, pub-lic transport, religious gatherings, funerals and weddings across the state.

The night curfew has already been in place in many cities, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Ra-

jkot and Vadodara since April 07.

“Now, the state gov-ernment has decided to enforce the night cur-few in Deesa, Anklesh-war, Vapi, Modasa, Radhanpur, Kadi and Visnagar from May 05,” a statement said, add-ing “On April 28, the state had included Himmatnagar, Navsa-ri, Veraval, Valsad, Por-bandar, Botad, Vi-ramgam, Chhota Udep-ur and Palanpur in the night curfew list.” Turn to P6

CM Rupani flanked by Chief Secretary Anil Mukim, Additional CS (Home) Pankaj Kumar, Additional CS to Chief Minister MK Das and Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi on his left, and Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Energy Minister Saurabh Patel on his right, during the core committee meeting on Tuesday.

CM Rupani imposes curbs in seven more Guj towns

New Delhi: Observing that the Centre was quibbling about “little things” when people are dying in Delhi, the Delhi High Court Tues-day asked the central government to show-case why contempt pro-ceedings should not be initiated against it for non-compliance of judi-cial orders by not sup-plying 700 MTs of oxy-gen to Delhi. The Court also issued a show-cause notice to the cen-tral government, ask-ing it to explain why the court should not initi-ate contempt proceed-ings against it.

“Are you living in ivory towers? You may choose to put your head like an ostrich in the sand but we will not,” the division bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said af-ter the central govern-ment challenged an ob-servation that the apex court has asked it to provide 700 MTs of oxy-gen to Delhi.

The court also sum-moned two senior offic-ers of the central gov-ernment and asked them to join the virtual hearing tomorrow. The court said Delhi was not receiving even the 590 MTs of allocated oxygen and that the na-tional capital was fac-ing a grim Turn to P6

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AHMEDABAD l WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 158

OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW

ROUND 2 OF ‘HEAVYWEIGHT’ FIGHT STARTS NOW!Didi holds meeting with Babus, Nadda in Kolkata; PM Modi speaks to Guv

POST POLL: DIDI-1, BJP-0, AS VIOLENCE GRIPS BENGAL

New Delhi: As differ-ent political parties ac-cuse each other of in-dulging in post-poll vio-lence in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mama-ta Banerjee Tuesday held a meeting with the top administrative and police officers of the state and took stock of the situation. The CM’s meeting comes after Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi dialed Gover-

nor Jagdeep Dhankar earlier in the day and expressed “serious an-guish and concern” over the “worrisome” law and order situation in the state.

Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay, Home Secretary H K Dwidevi, Director Gen-eral of Police P Niraj-nayan and Kolkata Po-lice Commissioner Soumen Mitra, were

present in the meeting with CM Mamata.

The BJP has claimed that six of its workers were among those killed, accusing the TMC of attacking and vandalising several of its offices, including one in Nandigram where the party’s can-didate Suvendu Adhi-kari defeated Mamata. Adhikari’s car was also attacked in Nandigram,

the party claimed.Meanwhile, Gover-

nor Jagdeep Dhankar said PM Modi called him and expressed con-cern over the “law and order situation” in the state. Taking to Twitter, Dhankar said, “PM called and expressed his serious anguish and concern at alarmingly worrisome law & order situation @MamataOf-ficial Turn to P6

END SENSELESS POL VIOLENCE, VANDALISM: GUV DIRECTS COPSKolkata: Hours after a BJP office in Asansol was allegedly vandalised by the TMC workers, West

Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday, directed the police and the Kolkata Commissioner to end “senseless political vio-lence, vandalism, arson, killings and intimidation that shames democ-

racy”. He further stated that the Bengali diaspora across the globe has expressed concern over the alarming lawlessness in the state.

Ahmedabad: After falling for two days, the number of new cases of COVID-19 rose again on Tuesday, Gujarat’s department of health and family welfare said. The state witnessed 13,050 fresh cases and 131 deaths in the 24 hours ended 5 pm. With this, the state’s case load has risen to 6,20,472, while the death toll now stands at 7,779.

India recorded over 3.57 lakh new covid-19 cases in the 24 hours on Tuesday, taking the total infections past the 2 crore mark. With this, the country reported a decline in daily spike for the third consecutive day. Over 34 lakh cases are currently active, the lowest rise in active cases in a month, while over 1.66 crore people have recovered after testing positive.

INDIA

COVID UPDATE

GUJARAT

FATALITIES DIP BUT CASES RISE SLIGHTLY

INDIA CROSSES 2 CR MARK WITH 3.57L NEW CASES

Are you living in ivory towers? HC raps Centre over Delhi’s O2 crisis

New Delhi: The Indian Premier League was on Tuesday suspended in-definitely after multiple Covid cases were re-ported in its bio-bubble, ending a month-long relatively smooth run for cricket’s most glam-orous and cash-rich event in the middle of a raging pandemic. “The tournament has been suspended indefinitely. We will try to conduct the event in the next available window but this month is unlikely,” league chairman Brijesh Patel told PTI.

The announcement came after Sunrisers Hyderabad’s wicket-keeper-batsman Wrid-dhiman Saha tested positive for Covid along with Delhi Capitals’ spinner Amit Mishra.”...we will take stock if we can find a suitable window later during the year. It could be September but these are all speculations. As

of now we are not con-ducting it any further,” BCCI vice president Ra-jiv Shukla told PTI.

The spread of infec-tion had led to post-ponement of two IPL games earlier.

The league organis-ers also issued a formal statement saying safety of its players and staff is paramount.”The In-dian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) and Board of Con-trol for Cricket in India (BCCI) in an emergency meeting have unani-mously decided to post-pone IPL 2021 season, with immediate effect. The BCCI does not want to compromise on the safety of the players, support staff and the other participants in-volved in organising the IPL. This decision was taken keeping the safety, health and well-being of all the stake-holders in mind,” the statement read.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the only way to stop the spread of coronavirus now was a full lockdown with the protection of minimum income guarantee scheme, NYAY, for the vulnerable sections. “GOI doesn’t get it. The only way to stop the spread of Corona now is a full lockdown- with the protection of NYAY for the vulnerable sections,” Gandhi said in a tweet. “GOI’s inaction is killing many innocent people,” he said.

CARDHOLDERS TO GET FREE RATION FOR 2 MONTHS: KEJRI

As the national capital fights the second wave of Covid-19, the Delhi government has decided to extend financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers to help them tide over the Covid-19 crisis. CM Arvind Kejriwal also announced free rations for all 72 lakh ration card holders in Delhi for two months. The Delhi CM, however, added this does not mean that the lockdown imposed in the national capital to break the chain of transmission will last for two months.

LOCKDOWN IN BIHAR TILL MAY 15: CM NITISH

GIRL JUMPS INTO BURNING PYRE OF COVID +VE FATHER

Patna: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said that a complete lock-down will be imposed in the state till May 15, 2021. The state government has formed a crisis management group to work on detailed guidelines. The announcement comes on a day Bihar reported 11,407 fresh COVID-19 cases and 82 deaths, taking the state’s overall case count to over 5.09 lakh and more than 2,800 fatalities. There are 1,07,667 active cases in Bihar.

Barmer: In a frightening incident, a 30-year-old woman jumped into burning pyre of her father who died after corona infection. Three daughters of Damodar Sharma, 65, performed his last rites and sud-denly Chandra Sharma jumped into the pyre. She has sustained 70 per cent burns. Before jumping into the pyre, she shouted that her fa-ther was everything and when he is no more, she has no purpose to live.

STRATEGIC TIMEOUT for IPL

l Indian virus variant being sent to UK to check for vaccine test

l Education Ministry postpones JEE-Mains exam

l Delhi Univer-sity suspends online classes till May 16

l Cellist Yo-Yo Ma plays ‘song of comfort’ for India

l Samsung pledges $5 mn to India’s Covid fight

l After testing posi-tive for Covid, lions in Hyderabad zoo recovering

l It’s not just India, new virus waves hit developing nations

l Plea to increase cremation, burial sites in national capital: HC seeks Centre, Delhi govt stand

The UBC researchers captured the structure of N501Y spike protein mutant (in blue) in UK variant of coronavirus. The mutant is considered to be behind India’s covid spike.

B.1.1.7 VARIANT OF COVID-19

FULL LOCKDOWN IS ONLY WAY TO STOP COVID-19 SPREAD: RAHUL

Twitter has permanently suspended actor Kangana Ranaut’s account for repeated violations of rules, specifi-cally its “Hateful Conduct and Abusive Behaviour policy”, Twitter said on Tuesday. Her handle @KanganaTeam now displays the message: account suspended.

TWITTER PERMANENTLY SUSPENDS KANGANA RANAUT’S ACCOUNT

Editor-In-Chief of First India, Jagdeesh Chandra, in The New JC Show, provides a deep insight on Didi’s unprec-edented ‘Bijoy in Bengal,’ factors responsible for BJP’s defeat in polls, why Modi-Shah continue to rule the roost as far as political management is concerned and more. P8

DIDI IS NO.1 IN BENGAL, GEHLOT NO.1 IN RAJ: JC

NEWSAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021

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Work in progress on an oxygen plant on Civil Hospital (Asarwa) campus in Ahmedabad. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: Coming down heavily on the government, the Guja-rat High Court on Tuesday called it out on several issues plaguing the COVID-19 relief efforts in the state. Claiming that the ruling power was not respectful of its or-der to share correct pandemic data and did not acknowledge it, the court observed, “The state must play a com-manding role. The suo

motu proceedings were not initiated to give direction to the state, but to see that things get done.”

First division bench comprising Chief Jus-tice Vikram Nath and Justice Bhargav Karia have been hearing suo motu petition on the current COVID-19 situ-ation in the state. The bench observed, “The central control system of the Emergency Ser-vices (108 ambulances) was a total failure in the month of April,

2021.” It also asked the government to file a detailed report on rem-desivir injection distri-bution system within the state. The court mentioned that it wants district-wise in-formation about the injectable drug’s requi-sition, number of in-

jections supplied by the state, districts and corporations.

During the hearing, advocate general Ka-mal Trivedi submitted that the government was planning to set up 35 Pressure Swing Ad-sorption (PSA) oxygen plants at state-run

hospitals. He added that the endeavour “will take time be-cause the import of raw materials takes a minimum of two to three months.” In re-sponse, the court termed the state’s ac-tions “belated and de-layed; what they

should have done ear-lier, they are doing now.”

Unhappy with the data of RT-PCR labora-tories, machinery and operational parts, the court pointed out, “The affidavit file shared on previous oc-casion was absolutely

incorrect. The state claims to have more RT-PCR machines pressed in but testing numbers have declined instead of increasing. Adequate testing is not being done.”

The court also ex-pressed concern that 21 government and pri-vate universities had not yet begun RT-PCR testing even after the state issued instruc-tions for them to do so. “You (the state) should be commanding. It should have given out

an order and not issued requests for com-mencement of the test-ing process. If they don't start testing, what action will be ini-tiated against them?” asked the court.

The bench also ex-pressed its outrage at the state’s failure to es-tablish a health portal sharing real-time bed availability in districts as well as municipal corporation areas, de-spite the court repeat-edly asking the govern-ment to do so.

GOVT ACTION ON NCOV RELIEF GOVT ACTION ON NCOV RELIEF BELATED & DELAYED: GUJ HCBELATED & DELAYED: GUJ HC

FIRST DIVISION BENCH PULLED UP THE STATE FOR DECLINING RT-PCR TESTS, LACK

OF INFRA AND NO HEALTH PORTAL

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: Express-ing its unhappiness with the modus oper-andi of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), Gujarat High Court on Tuesday called out the civic body on its failure to launch a health portal with re-al-time bed availability updates. Terming the corporation “an undis-ciplined child”, the court ordered it to pull up its socks.

First division bench comprising Chief Jus-tice Vikram Nath and Justice Bhargav Karia heard the suo motu pe-tition on the current COVID-19 situation in the state. They ob-served, “When smaller municipal corpora-tions such as Rajkot, Jamnagar among oth-ers were able to create a portal with real-time bed availability up-dates, why not AMC? Their portal can be ac-cessed on mobile phones, laptops and desktops. This court has asked the corpora-tion to implement such a portal and share real-time bed availability

data with the citizens, but it has not done so.”

The court was not convinced with the cor-poration’s submission that Ahmedabad Hospi-tals and Nursing Homes Association (AHNHA) will be updating data on its website and that link will be shared on the corporation’s website. The bench pointed out that data of all AMC-run hospitals should also be made available in real-time on its website.

The submission of patient admissions data by AMC also did not sit well with the court, since patients being admitted

through only emergen-cy ambulance services were accounted for. In clear words, the court stated that it strongly believed AMC had completely failed and that no municipal cor-poration could func-tion “on whims.”

Meanwhile, a civil application was moved by the Child Rights Col-lective Gujarat (CRCG) and was heard along with the COVID-19 pub-lic interest litigation (PIL). Advocate Anand Yagnik submitted, “Lakhs of children with special needs ought to be looked after and cared for by the

state of Gujarat during this impending crisis. Pregnant women must also be given proper care and separate treatment on priority basis.”

Yagnik also advocat-ed for ration, food and midday meals for chil-dren belonging to back-ward classes of the so-ciety. “Children in shel-ter homes and other homes under the cus-tody of the state as per the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015 should not be neglected and their needs must be catered to by the state,” he added.

First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: A peti-tion has been moved in the Gujarat High Court pleading it to hold concerned au-thorities accountable for failing to imple-ment directions re-garding fire safety norms issued by the court. The petition-er’s contention is that due to this fiasco, 18 people lost their lives in Bharuch’s Patel Welfare Hospital fire tragedy that occurred on May 01.

Petitioner and ad-vocate Amit Panchal submitted before the court that the build-ing where the hospi-tal was operating out of did not have a fire No Objection Certifi-cate (NOC). He urged the court to punish “concerned authori-ties” by exercising the power to issue cer-tain writs entrusted by the Constitution’s Article 226. “Only if the court sets an ex-ample by punishing officers, will they re-alize that inaction

will not be tolerated,” he asserted.

Panchal also plead-ed the court to direct the state government to submit the Justice DA Mehta commis-sion report on the Shrey Hospital fire incident that oc-curred last year. “The report is not in the public domain yet.

The commission must have made some recommendations, which the court can pursue and issue ap-propriate directions to that effect,” he said.

Incidentally, over the past year, seven fire incidents have oc-curred at designated COVID-19 hospitals in the state. While no

casualties were re-ported in three inci-dents, 36 patients have lost their lives in four blazes so far.

The High Court is-sued a notice to the state and asked it to file a response to the petition by May 10. The matter has been kept for further hear-ing on May 11.

AMC an “undisciplined child”, says first div bench

‘PUNISH OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE FOR

BHARUCH HOSP FIRE’

With no portal with real-time updates on bed availability, people have had to depend on sign boards outside hospitals. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Over 18 people were killed in the fi re that engulfed the hospital on May 01.

Gutted COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Patel Bharuch Welfare Hospital.

AMA CONDEMNS AMC SEALING

DRIVEThe Gujarat High Court also heard a petition moved by the Ahmedabad Medical Association (AMA) against the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) seal-ing drive of nursing homes operational in commercial buildings. The petitioner submitted that the hospitals have fi re NOCs but, since the buildings they are housed in do not have building usage certifi cates, they are being sealed. “If given permission to resume operations, it may prove to be helpful in the present crisis,” mentioned the petition. The court has issued a notice to AMC asking it to fi le a response.

GUJARATAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021

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Masuma Bharmal Jariwala

Rajkot: The ongoing pandemic has ren-dered people helpless with the state adminis-tration failing to es-tablish much-needed health infrastructure before the second wave. In a bid to pray for those affected by the health crisis, one million members of the Dawoodi Bohra community held a night vigil on Monday.

Observed during the holy month of Ramadan, Laylatul Qadr is consid-

ered to be the holiest night of the year by the community. It also coin-cides with the birth an-niversary of community leader HH Dr Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin (TUS).

According to folklore, it is also known as the ‘Night of Power’, when the Almighty answers every prayer.

Members of the Bohra community follow the tradition of remaining awake the whole night for prayers. “ We pray for our loved ones every year but this time com-

munity members only prayed for this pandemic to end,” said Nafisa Bharmal, who has been praying daily for the en-tire Ramadan month.

“I pray to Allah every day to cure everyone and protect us from the vi-rus. Last night, I asked Allah to eliminate the virus so that we are all safe,” said five-year- old Burhanuddin Bharmal, who remained awake to pray the whole night.

“Remaining awake and praying the whole night is not an easy task, but prayers have great

strength. Our spiritual leader has put emphasis on the tranquility of mind. If a mind is bal-anced, it will strengthen itself to endure and fight all toxicity. We believe that programmes and activities aimed at de-stressing the mind should be carried out with extreme serious-ness. Our community has been working to pro-vide mental peace through meditation and other methods,” said Shaikh Mustafa Zakir, a community representa-tive based in Rajkot.

1M Dawoodi Bohras pray for end to pandemic during RamadanOVERNIGHT VIGIL

Members of the community

remained awake on

Laylatul Qadr--the holiest

night of the year--for health

of those affected by COVID-19

Five-year-old Burhanuddin Bharmal also stayed up all night to pray for the end of the pandemic.

Another nCoV patient commits suicide at Rajkot Civil Hospital Negative news on social media, internal conflict are wreaking havoc on mental health, psychologists sayFirst India Bureau

Rajkot: In the second such incident in two weeks, another COV-ID-19 patient took his own life at the COV-ID-care centre at the Rajkot Civil Hospital, highlighting the toll the pandemic is tak-ing on mental health.

Fifty-year-old Jagab-hai Bhalgamadiya a resident of Saypar vil-lage in Kuvadva jumped to his death from the fourth floor of the building in the wee hours of Tuesday.

His family was shocked by his actions, especially because he

had spoken to his brother just the previ-ous day via video call, and showed no signs of even being upset.

However, when the family approached the hospital, authorities showed them CCTV footage in which two attendants are seen running after Jagab-hai in an attempt to stop him from jumping to his death.

On April 20, a 53-year-old nCoV pa-tient jumped off the fifth floor of the Sam-ras COVID-Care Cen-tre, and a man commit-ted suicide after his wife tested positive.

Psychologists say this spate of suicides is cause for concern.

“Negative news on social media and inter-nal conflict are wreak-ing havoc on people’s mental health, causing depression and, in some cases, suicide. In some people, this stress and depression causes psychosomatic issues, and so they start showing symp-toms even without hav-ing any medical prob-lems,” . Dr Dhara Doshi, assistant pro-fessor at the Saurash-tra University’s psy-chology department told First India. Negative news on social media and internal confl ict are wreaking havoc on people’s mental health.

CM Rupani agrees to help Uttarakhand with oxygen aidFirst India Bureau

Dehradun/Gandhi-nagar: Assuring all possible help to help break the chain of transmission in Utta-rakhand, Chief Min-ister Vijay Rupani agreed to send oxygen cylinders to the moun-tain state. With the number of COVID-19 cases on the rise, Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat had sought his Gujarat counterpart Rupani on Monday for imme-diate assistance.

Rawat spoke to Ru-pani on the phone, an official release said. The Gujarat CM as-sured Rawat of all

possible help to deal with the situation, it added.

Meanwhile, state health secretary Amit Negi told the media that the ongo-ing curfew in Uttara-khand has been ex-tended by three more days in districts with a high number of cases, including Deh-radun, to break the transmission chain of novel coronavirus.

The number of people being dis-charged from hospi-tals after treatment is also rising, Negi said, adding that 90% of the patients are recovering in home isolation.

65 Cong MLAs file PIL to use `97.5 cr fund for nCoV First India Bureau

Ahmedabad: The Con-gress party on Tues-day filed a Public In-terest Litigation to utilize their MLA fund to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. This would mean a boost of Rs97.50 crore to the state’s effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The petition filed by Gujarat Pradesh Con-gress Committee presi-dent Amit Chavda and Leader of the Opposition Paresh Dhanani states that every MLA is allo-cated an annual fund of Rs1.50 crore to be uti-lized in their respective constituencies in accord-ance with the applicable rules and regulations.

Last week, the party had filed an application seeking the court’s ap-proval to utilize the cu-mulative amount of Rs97.50 crore allocated to

its 65 MLAs for the finan-cial year 2021-22 to meet the needs of their con-stituents as the state grapples with the second wave of COVID-19.

The application came after the state govern-ment allowed each MLA to use up to Rs25 lakh of the Rs1.5 crore fund for COVID-19 efforts.

“This amount is insuf-ficient and therefore ap-plicants urge the court to consider giving direc-tion to the State to per-mit all MLAs including 65 MLAs of INC (the In-dian National Congress) to utilize the entire Rs1.50 crore in their own

constituency in the in-terest of people at large and purely out of hu-manitarian considera-tion to try to overcome the tsunami of (COV-ID-19),” the petition says.

It adds that the appli-cants want to use the funds to buy ambulanc-es, set up of reasonably sized oxygen plants in each constituency, and to empower primary and community health cen-tres at the village and taluka level. They also want to buy oxygen con-centrators, RT-PCR units, ventilators, and oxygen cylinders, flow meters and humidifiers.

First India Bureau

Gandhinagar: After falling for two days, the number of new cases of COVID-19 rose again on Tues-day, Gujarat’s depart-ment of health and family welfare said in a statement. The state witnessed 13,050 fresh cases and 131 deaths in the 24 hours ended 5 pm. With this, the state’s case load has risen to 6,20,472, while the death toll now stands at 7,779 since March last year.

Chief principal sec-retary to CM Vijay Ru-pani, K Kailashnathan

has tested positive for COVID-19 and is now isolating at home. He had met Rupani and other members of the core committee earlier in the day.

The day’s deaths oc-curred in Ahmedabad (23), Vadodara (13), Ra-jkot (13), Jamnagar (14), Surat (10), Bhavnagar (10), Junagadh (7), Ba-naskantha (4), Suren-dranagar (4), Kutch (3), Sabarkantha (3), Mehsana (3), Patan (3), Kheda (2), Dahod (2), Amreli (2), Chhota Udepur (2), Devbhumi Dwarka (2), Mahisagar (1), Gandhinagar (1), Gir Somnath (1), Nar-

mada (1), Valsad (1), Bharuch (1), Morbi (1), Aravalli (1), Tapi (1) and Botad (1).

Dang recorded the lowest jump with 9 new cases on Tuesday. Ahmedabad and Surat saw four-digit cases with 4,754 and 1,574, re-spectively. Twenty-two districts saw fresh cas-es in triple digits and seven reported double-digit cases.

There are now 1,48,297 active cases in Gujarat with 778 patients on ven-tilators. The state has so far vaccinated 1.27 crore people, including 26.82 lakh who are fully inoc-ulated. In April, the 108 ambulance service ferried 48,065 nCoV patients to hospitals across the state.

Doctors and staff at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital celebrate the recovery of an nCoV patient on Tuesday. The average hospitalization time is now three to four hours, up from seven to eight minutes before the pandemic hit. —PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Slight jump in new nCoV cases, but dip in fatalities continues as Guj sees 131 deaths

COVID-19 UPDATE

TOTAL CASES

RECOVERED

ACTIVE CASES

TOTAL DEATHS

6,20,472

4,64,396

1,48,297

7,779

+13,050

131

A’BAD 4,754SURAT 1,574 V’DARA 943JAMNAGAR 728

RAJKOT 726 B’NAGAR 472 MEHSANA 459G’NAGAR 309

‘BJP LEADERS ARE SUPERSPREADERS’

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

l Vol 2 l Issue No. 158 l RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad. Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

PERSPECTIVEAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021

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eople might once have con-sidered oxygen a human right. But the pan-

demic has revealed that ac-cess to oxygen – in a pure form, for medical use – is a luxury in most low and middle-income countries.

Getting access to pure oxygen for medical treat-ments is a complicated, expensive and often very dangerous business. The current situation in India is a harsh reminder of this issue. The second wave of COVID-19 has hit the country hard, the to-tal number of deaths has just passed the 200,000 mark. Oxygen is in short supply.

Because of the current emergency, Indian citizens have turned to the black market to purchase oxygen way above its regular price.

This has happened part-ly due to the way oxygen is produced, stored and transported around the world. That’s why scien-tists like me are working to find a cheaper alterna-tive.

BOTTLENECKSOxygen is mostly obtained from liquefied air. Engi-neers turn the air we breathe into a liquid, using a combination of process-es that cool down gases un-til they condensate. Once they’ve managed to liquefy the mix, they use distilla-tion – the same process used to make whisky and gin – to separate air into its different components, oxy-gen among them.

This process requires enormous amounts of en-ergy and huge industrial facilities, so it’s limited to just a few areas in the

world, most of them in the global north. Liquid oxy-gen must be stored and

transported under great pressure, creating serious logistical issues and safety

concerns – oxygen is really explosive.

This means the main bottleneck of oxygen pro-duction is, precisely, bot-tles. The US relies on heavy-duty pipes to trans-port pressurised oxygen. In Europe, transport is mainly through liquid oxy-gen carried in big tanks. For lower-income coun-tries, distribution is done in bottles.

But the oxygen bottle market is cornered by only a handful of chemical com-panies. Using bottles also adds another layer of safe-ty concerns, as handling them correctly requires several precautionary measures and proper train-ing. Developing countries therefore lack both the in-frastructure required to produce liquid oxygen and that to easily and cheaply transport it to a hospital.

OUT OF THIN AIRAnother way of “making” oxygen is using concentra-tors, devices that selectively remove nitrogen – the gas that makes up 78% of our atmosphere – using a series of membranes, porous ma-terials and filters. These started being produced in mid-70s, and the technology is very well established.

These devices turn air into a stream of oxygen-enriched gas, typically above 95% (the rest is formed of mostly argon). This is usually good enough for respirators and ventila-tors. The benefit of a con-centrator is it can be pro-duced as a small device to be used in hospitals or care homes. Commercially available concentrators ex-ist now, but they are expen-sive and difficult to produce in developing countries.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

Medical oxygen should not be a luxuryP

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea. —Buddha

SpiritualSPEAK

TopTWEET

Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjpVaccinations across India have crossed the 15-crore mark in 103 days, making India the fastest country in the world to do so. A significant achievement, India remains committed to bolster the #LargestVaccinationDrive for immunising all citizens in the least amount of time.

Anand Sharma @AnandSharmaINCEndorse the call given by @RahulGandhi that a lockdown is the only option available, given the constant denial and false claims of the govt on the number of infections, deaths and shameful claims of no oxygen shortages when hundreds of Indian, including doctors, have died.

n the present scenario of un-precedented misery and grief when there is helplessness all around us, we do hear stories of good work also. Though many people in government and outside must be doing ex-cellent work but I would like to mention two civil service offic-ers in Maharashtra who have done exemplary work in the face of the second wave of co-rona- Dr Rajendra Bharud, the young District Collector of Nandurbar in Maharashtra and Iqbal Singh Chahal, Com-missioner of BMC in Mumbai.

After the waning of the first wave most came to believe that the worst was over and threw caution to the wind. Likewise the government machinery too imagined that they had won a decisive victory against corona and no preparations were thought necessary for the likely second wave. However to be fair, many state governments kept cautioning people to fol-low the Covid safety norms. In Rajasthan signboards saying “No Mask, No Entry” have been a common sight. Social distanc-ing was maintained during meetings and these continued to be held at higher levels to monitor the corona situation.

It was in August last year that most of Europe was hit by a second wave which was sweeping France, Spain and other parts of Europe and soon it spread to the UK too. Media was full of stories of how Gov-ernments in these countries were struggling with their overwhelmed health care sys-tems as well as their battered economies. Lockdowns were reimposed at most places in these countries. Being econom-ically strong with small popu-lations they could manage to tide over the worst phase. Whether this wave can also spread to India seems to have been ignored by those in power.

During the first wave in In-dia all Governments and dis-tricts had worked very hard to bring the situation under con-trol and we did succeed in con-

trolling the menace. The dis-trict level machinery played a pivotal role in containing the virus with round-the-clock vig-ilance, make-shift quarantine centres, medicines and con-tainment zones. The number of positive cases and casualties came down drastically and we were under the impression that the corona battle is over. Also there was a view that we have developed better immunity lev-els and things would not go wrong again. So hardly any ad-vance contingency plan was prepared for the second wave. Even the temporary hospitals that were opened at many plac-es were closed in February as we had declared a victory against Covid-19. Government machinery at various levels also took a back seat.

Despite this situation, a few in authority took a different line. One such person is Dr Ra-jendra Bharud, a doctor-turned bureaucrat posted as the Dis-trict Collector of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra. He was able to anticipate the sec-ond wave and started working on a contingency plan to meet the situation. Alongwith his team he planned and sourced the critical requirements -two oxygen plants, 29 ambulances, community hospitals, ICU beds, essential medicines and other materials. Districts are generally short of funds but with the help of local business-es and civil society he managed the extra resources at his level. And the result is there for all to see — the number of daily ac-

tive cases have dropped from 1200 to 300 and 150 hospital beds are vacant. With all the preparation, he is able to man-age the tsunami of the second wave very effectively.

Iqbal Singh Chahal was ap-pointed as Commissioner, BMC in May last year when Mumbai was in the midst of the worst phase of the first wave-slum ar-eas like Dharavi became the hotspots. However within a few weeks of his taking over he was able to manage the crisis suc-cessfully. Two major initiatives were taken by him: First, streamlining and managing hospital admissions by taking over about 10,000 hospital beds in 132 hospitals (35 major and 97 smaller). He was able to fix rea-sonable rates for the beds (in private hospitals at par with government hospitals) and this was enforced without much re-

sistance. Due to his pragmatic approach, the hospitals will-ingly handed over beds to BMC. Admissions to these hospitals was done by BMC and the role of hospitals was reduced to treating the patients only. Sec-ondly, to overcome shortage of doctors he roped in 1100 MBBS students by offering them Rs 50,000 as monthly stipend and free boarding and lodging in good hotels (4/5 star) close to the hospitals. This policy is be-ing continued even now. The result is that despite the second huge surge hitting Mumbai early April this year, there are over 3000 beds (some with oxy-gen) available in the hospitals. And the number of infected per-sons has fallen sharply in Mum-bai. And now with support from the State Government he is pre-paring for the third wave of the pandemic -four new jumbo hos-pitals with 2000 beds each (200 ICU and 70% oxygen) and cap-tive oxygen plants. These hospi-tals are likely to be ready by May-end this year.

These are examples worth studying and emulating by oth-er districts/cities (based on their circumstances). This may not be the last corona wave as more of these are anticipated in the future. With support from the state governments, the field officers can play a much more effective role at the ground lev-el. Advance preparations can save lives, it can be our best bet and our best insurance for any new wave of the pandemic.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY

THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

BRIGHT SPOTS IN THE SHADOW OF PANDEMIC

I

Despite this situation, a few in authority took a different line. One such person is Dr Rajendra Bharud, a doctor-turned bureaucrat posted as the District Collector of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra. He was able to anticipate the second wave and started working on a contingency plan to meet the situation. Alongwith his team he planned and sourced the critical requirements -two oxygen plants, 29 ambulances, community hospitals, ICU beds, essential medicines and other materials

AFTER THE WANING OF THE FIRST WAVE MOST

CAME TO BELIEVE THAT THE WORST WAS OVER

AND THREW CAUTION TO THE WIND. LIKEWISE THE

GOVERNMENT MACHINERY TOO IMAGINED THAT THEY

HAD WON A DECISIVE VICTORY AGAINST CORONA AND NO

PREPARATIONS WERE THOUGHT NECESSARY FOR THE LIKELY SECOND WAVE

DR GS SANDHU

THE AUTHOR IS A RETIRED IAS, RAJASTHAN

IN-DEPTH

DELHI CONTINUES TO GASP FOR OXYGEN

wo days ago 12 Covid-19 patients died in Delhi’s Batra Hospital due to shortage of oxygen. In Karnataka, 24 patients died gasping for oxygen as the hospital ran out of the life-saving gas. Shortage

of oxygen supply has weakened India’s fight against Covid and caused heavy loss of lives. While the rest of the country struggles for medi-cal oxygen, Delhi is literally gasping for oxygen. The situation is ironic as Delhi is the seat of power as it has the Central government and a gov-ernment headed by Arvind Kejriwal. The nation-al Capital also has the Supreme Court and a high court. Besides, embassies of all the foreign coun-tries are located which, in essence, gives the coun-try a bad image abroad.

A major problem is of the Delhi and Central gov-ernments not being on the same page. It’s been two days since the Delhi government sought the De-fence Ministry’s help even as another hospital, which has over 30 critical care patients, raised the red flag about oxygen supply shortage. One expects the SOS will be promptly addressed as supplies were being rushed by countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, America, Germany, Britain etc.

Strangely, even the Delhi High Court seems to be helpless. On Tuesday, however, the court came down heavily on the Central government on short-age of oxygen supply in the national capital and ordered it to ensure that O2 supplies reached Del-hi. It directed the Centre to divert unutilized oxy-gen tankers from other states to Delhi.

T

COVID-19 DEALS A BLOW TO THE IPL

he prestigious IPL, a cricket bonanza mil-lions looked forward to in the evenings, came to an abrupt end on Tuesday. The decision to postpone the cricket bonanza midway was taken at an emergency

meeting between the IPL Governing Council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The decision was necessitated after two players of the franchise Kolkata Knight Riders tested positive. They were followed by three persons from Chennai Super Kings (CSK), including bowling coach Laxmipathy Balaji, who reportedly tested positive. Wriddhiman Saha of Sunrisers Hyderabad has also tested positive. The surge of Covid-19 among crick-eters in the IPL is something some people had warned of. The BCCI had rejected earlier demands for postponement of the tournament.

The immediate responsibility of the BCCI will be to ensure a safe passage for the overseas players. The problem of players from Australia will require special attention as their country’s government threatened to jail those returning from India. Al-though the Australian government subsequently softened its stand the Aussies may not be willing to take chances. For players from other countries, a ban on flights from India will pose a different problem. Most players are now planning to take the Maldives route to reach their respective coun-tries. Others plan to go via the UK where they will be required to quarantine themselves.

Four international players and one Indian--- R. Ashwin of the CSK---exited the IPL earlier the re-maining are waiting to fly out of India perhaps until September when the IPL is expected to be played out.

T

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IN THE COURTYARD

INDIAAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021

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STUDENT VISA HOLDERS AN ENTER US FROM AUGUST 1: EMBASSYNew Delhi: Indian students whose classes in US start from August 1, 2021, can enter the country. The US Embassy in India on Tuesday — when the restriction on travellers from India came into effect — Tweeted: “Under the current Presidential Proclamation, student visa holders are able to

enter the United States if their classes start on or after August 1, 2021. We are unfortunately unable to approve exceptions for F visa holders with a program start date before August 1, 2021. If your start date is before August 1, we urge you to contact your respective educational institutions to discuss options.”

PILOTS THREATEN TO 'STOP WORK', DEMAND VACCINATIONNew Delhi: Air India pilots union (ICPA) has threatened to "stop work" if the airline fails to set up vaccination camps on a 'pan India` basis for the fl ying crew. In a letter written to Air India`s Director of Operations RS Sandhu, ICPA said, "With no healthcare support to the fl ying crew, no insurance, and a massive opportunistic pay cut, we are in no position to continue risking the lives of our pilots without vaccination." "Our fi nances are already spread thin covering our bedridden colleagues and provisioning for families."

GANJA WORTH RS 1 CR SEIZED IN ODISHA'S KORAPUTKoraput (Odisha) : Odisha's Machhkund police on Tuesday arrested three people and seized 1008 kg of ganja near Jalaput village in Koraput.The value of the ganja is approximately Rs 1 crore. According to police officials, the ganja was being illegally transported. Addressing media persons, Sub Divisional Police Officer Sanjaya Mohapatra said, "Police detained a jackfruit-laden truck traveling to Guntur, Andhra Pradesh which was carrying 1,008 kg of ganja." "Three persons have been arrested," he added. —ANI

STALIN DECLARES JOURNALISTS AS FRONTLINE WORKERS IN TNChennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday announced media professionals as frontline workers.The journalists will now be eligible for all benefi ts, including priority vac-cination against corona-virus. Stalin in a tweet stated that all journalists working in newspapers and visual media risk

their lives and their work will be considered as front-line workers in Tamil Nadu. "All media persons working in newspapers, visual and audio media at the risk of their lives due to rain, sun and fl oods will be considered as frontline employees in Tamil Nadu," Stalin tweeted in Tamil. —ANI

New Delhi: After re-ports of violence erupt-ing in different parts of West Bengal following the declaration of As-sembly election results on May 2 in which the ruling Trinamool Con-gress cruised to a land-slide victory, the Con-gress said on Tuesday that Trinamool supre-mo Mamata Banerjee should take steps to stop the bloodshed.

Congress' West Ben-gal in-charge Jitin Prasada said, "The post-poll violence that has been unleashed by the Trinamool on the Congress workers is unacceptable. Even women and children are not spared. I'm sure the people of West Ben-gal did not vote for this lawlessness."

While addressing a press conference, the

party's Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil said, "The Trinamool leader (Banerjee) should take steps to stop the vio-lence as the election

mandate comes with a responsibility. If the target is the BJP work-ers, then also the vio-lence should stop im-mediately."

Houses and vehicles of some BJP candidates were allegedly attacked in Bengal post the dec-laration of election re-sults. The vehicle of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, who defeated Chief Minister Mama-ta Banerjee in Nandi-gram, was also report-edly attacked. "The Ministry of Home Af-fairs has asked the West Bengal government for a report on the post-poll violence targeting op-position political work-ers in the state," the MHA spokesperson had tweeted earlier.

Trinamool leaders, however, have said that they had nothing to do with any such incidents in West Bengal and urged the people to maintain peace and fol-low all Covid-19 proto-cols. —ANI

New Delhi: Amid re-ports of violence against its supporters allegedly by Trinamool Congress workers, the BJP on Tuesday pledged that the party will stand with those who believed in it.

Addressing a virtual press conference BJP Spokesperson, Dr Sam-bit Patra said, "We are the main Opposition party in Bengal today and we are taking this pledge today - we are standing by the 2.28 crore voters of Bengal who believed in us."

"2.28 crore Bengalis voted for the BJP, is it not their democratic right to vote for a politi-cal party of their choice? Will Mamata Banerjee led TMC gov-ernment take care of them? Do they have no democratic right?" he asked.

Patra claimed that

the situation in West Bengal is unbelievable. "We have never wit-nessed such scenes in India's electoral history. Bengal is burning. There should be gra-ciousness after winning polls. However, the vio-lence being perpetrated in Bengal is painful and saddening, " Patra said.

In a message to BJP workers, Patra said, "The party stands with you. It will come to you and support you in this hour of crisis.” —ANI

MAMATA SHOULD TAKE STEPS TO STOP VIOLENCE IN BENGAL: CONG

Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee

MAMATA’S PARTY WON WITH MAJORITY, SHOULD TRY TO ESTABLISH PEACE: RAUTMumbai: A day after BJP office in Asansol was allegedly vandal-ised by the Trina-mool Congress (TMC) workers, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said since the TMC won the recently conclud-ed assembly elec-tions by a huge man-date, the maximum responsibilty goes to the party to calm the people down and es-tablish peace.

“Party won the election by huge ma-jority. Therefore, the maximum responsi-bility is that of the TMC leaders to calm

down the people, make them under-stand and establish peace,” said Raut.

Hinting at the Ce-tral govt, “Currently the state is under the control of the Cen-tral Police Force, no govt has been estab-lished yet.” —ANI

We stand by 2.28 crore voters who believed in us: BJP

New Delhi: The High Court here on Tuesday asked the Delhi Police to file a status report on a petition alleging med-ical mafia-politicians nexus indulging in black-marketing of COVID-19 medicines.

A division bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rekha Palli asked the Delhi Police to file status report and listed the matter for May 17. The court was hearing a petition filed by Deepak Singh.

Advocate Virag Gup-

ta, appearing for the petitioner, urged the high court to issue di-rection to registre FIR and investigate into the medical mafia-politi-cians nexus by the Cen-tral Bureau of Investi-gation (CBI) to issue

direction to detent per-sons indulging in black-marketing of COVID-19 medicines as per Na-tional Security Act, 1980 and to direct for disqualification of MPs and MLAs found to be hoarding medicines.

New Delhi: The HC here will on May 17 hear in detail the plea seeking direction to halt/suspend all con-struction activity of the Central Vista Ave-nue Redevelopment Project in compliance with orders issued by the Delhi Disaster

Management. A bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh adjourned the matter on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Addition-al Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, op-posed the plea and said the petition is of doubt-ful credentials. —ANI

Report on plea over black-marketing of COVID-19 medicines: HC to police

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litiga-tion (PIL) praying for the investigation to be carried out by a court-appointed Special In-vestigation Team (SIT) and affix the liability and accountability on the Central and state governments in ongo-ing deaths due to short-age of medical oxygen. The Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh decided to “dismissed as with-drawn” the petition.

Delhi HC refuses to entertain plea for SIT probe

Supreme Court strikes down WB Housing Industry Regulation Act, 2017

Plea seeks halt of construction activity of Central Vista

New Delhi: The SC on Tuesday struck down the West Bengal Hous-ing Industry Regulation Act, 2017 (HIRA) as un-constitutional, which was passed to regulate the real estate sector in place of the central law, RERA. A Bench headed

by Justice DY Chandra-chud declared as void and unconstitutional the HIRA, for being re-pugnant to the RERA Act. The apex court said that if the Parliament has enacted a law on a subject, it is not open for the State legislature to

pass a similar law. “Once Parliament has enacted a law, it’s not open to the State legisla-ture to enact a similar law and lift it word to word. Test of repugnan-cy is clearly estab-lished,” the top court said. —ANI

Kolkata: The RSS wants the BJP leader-ship to do a ‘thorough introspection’ over the landslide victory se-cured by the Trinamool Congress in West Ben-gal and specially focus on the merit of induct-ing many Trinamool deserters.

A quick review by RSS leaders in West Bengal and its top lead-ership revealed that in-duction of Trinamool deserters have not

worked for the BJP.With the exception of

giant killer Suvendu Adhikari, the idead of taking TMC deserters

into the BJP fold has backfired, justifying TMC strategist Prashant Kishor’s re-peated assertion that

they joined BJP when faced with denial of TMC ticket in view of doubts over their win-nability.

Suvendu justified the ‘Adhikari factor’ by his slender victory over Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram, but the TMC won 33 of the 47 seats in the Midnapore area because the battle Royale sucked in the Adhikari clan and left yawning gaps else-where in the region.

RSS wants BJP to introspect WB loss

New Delhi: Former Un-ion minister and Jam-mu and Kashmir gover-nor Jagmohan has passed away after a spell of illness. He took his last breath on Mon-day.

The news of his de-mise has saddened a number of dignitaries including Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi. He paid rich tributes to him on Tuesday tweet-ing “Jagmohan Ji’s de-mise is a monumental loss for our nation. He was an exemplary ad-ministrator and a re-nowned scholar. He al-ways worked towards the betterment of India. His ministerial tenure was marked by innova-tive policy making. Condolences to his fam-ily and admirers. Om

Shanti.” Jagmohan started his career as a bureaucrat and was seen by many as a tough and efficient adminis-trator. He also served as the lieutenant governor of Delhi and was ap-pointed Jammu and Kashmir governor. As militancy erupted in Jammu and Kashmir, he was made the gover-nor again in 1990.

Former J-K Governor Jagmohan passes away, PM Modi expresses grief

SHAH, NADDA CONDOLE JAGMOHAN’S DEMISE

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Amit Shah and Jagat Prakash Nadda on Tues-day condoled the demise of former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Jagmohan. The former Jammu and Kashmir Governor passed away in Delhi on Monday. He was 94. Taking to Twitter, Shah re-called Jagmohan as a devoted politician who took key decisions for the nation’s peace and progress. “Shri Jagmohan Ji will always be remembered for his remarkable tenure as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. An able administrator and later a devoted politician who took key decisions for the nation’s peace and progress. India mourns his sad demise. My deepest condolences to his family.

Dr Sambit Patra

Sanjay Raut

J-K Governor Jagmohan —FILE PHOTO

Night curfew....The release also said that while essential services and factories would continue to function, the govern-ment has ordered the closure of restaurants, swimming pools, cine-ma halls, shopping complexes and water parks in these 36 cities until 12 May.

Other establish-ments like beauty par-lours, gardens, salons, gyms, auditoriums and malls would also remain shut in these cities, it said.

Besides all the AP-MCs (agriculture pro-duce market commit-

tees) across the state will also remain closed, and only market yards trading in vegetables and fruits will be al-lowed to function.

Round 2...I share grave concerns @PMOIndia given that violence vandalism, arson, loot and kill-ings continue unabat-ed. Concerned must act in overdrive to re-store order.”

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also asked the state govern-ment for a report on the “post-election vio-lence targeting opposi-tion political workers

in the state”.Meanwhile, the BJP

has announced a na-tionwide dharna on May 5 against the al-leged attacks. The pro-posed agitation is planned on the same day as Mamata Baner-jee is expected to take oath again as the state’s chief minister. Until Mamata’s swear-ing-in takes place, the governor is in charge of the government’s administration in West Bengal. The saf-fron party claimed that the acts were “ s t a t e - s p o n s o r e d ” . BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that

“whatever is happen-ing in Bengal is state-sponsored violence”.

BJP spokesperson and senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia also filed a petition in the Supreme Court, seek-ing a CBI probe into “rampant post-poll vi-olence” in West Ben-gal.

BJP national presi-dent J P Nadda arrived in Kolkata Tuesday where he said, “The incidents which we saw after the results of West Bengal polls shock us and make us worried. I had heard of such incidents dur-ing India’s partition.

We had never seen such intolerance after the results of a poll, in independent India.”

The BJP chief also said he will visit the houses of those party workers who “lost their lives” in South 24 Parganas.

Are you...reality every day of people not able to se-cure oxygen beds and ICU beds.It added that on one hand there is need to increase the infrastructure but on the other hand the ex-isting is crumbling. “Contempt is there. Don’t take it lightly.

Don’t drive us there. We mean business. We are not going to take no for an answer,” said the court.

The court also pulled up the Centre for calling “rhetoric” the statement made by Delhi government that “people are dying” due to lack of sufficient oxygen supply to the hospitals in the na-tional capital. “This is not rhetoric. It is un-fortunate. We can’t be blind. This is an emo-tional matter when people are dying. It is a matter of people’s lives and liberty,” it said. ”.

FROM PG 1

INDIAAHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021

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J MURALI APPOINTED AS DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN APJ Murali has been appointed as Director, State Institute of Rural Development of PR & RD De-partment in Andhra Pradesh for a period of two years. He is a retired IAS offi cer.

S K GUPTA IS ALSO MD, FERRO SCRAP NIGAM LIMITEDS K Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, MSTC Limited, has been assigned an additional charge of Managing Director, Ferro Scrap Nigam Limited (FSNL) after a vacancy of this post with the re-tirement of present incumbent Rajiv Bhattacharya on April 30, 2021.

MS SINGHANIA TAKES OVER AS NATIONAL PRESIDENT FICCI FLO Ms Ujjwala Singhania has been appointed as the National President of FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO), the oldest women-led & women-centric business chamber of Southeast Asia. She took over as the 38th President of FLO at the FLO’s 37th Annual Session.

SANJAY PANJIYAR SELECTED AS DIRECTOR (OP), HINDUSTAN COPPER LIMITED Sanjay Panjiyar, CGM (Project & Maintenance), NMDC Ltd, has been selected for the post of Director (Operations), Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting held on May 4, 2021. Four candi-dates were interviewed for the same.

ANAND SHARMA APPOINTED AS OSD IN CM’S OFFICE IN MP Former IAS offi cer Anand Sharma has been appointed as Offi cer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Chief Minister’s Offi ce following his superannua-tion on April 30 on contract basis for the tenure of the current CM in Madhya Pradesh.

ANIL SHUKLA RETURNS TO PARENT CADREUpon return from central deputation, Anil Shukla has been posted to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He is a 1996 batch IPS offi cer of AGMUT cadre.

SANJAY KUMAR POSTED TO DELHI GOVT Sanjay Kumar has been shifted from Andaman and Nicobar Islands to GNCTD. He is a 1998 batch IPS offi cer of AGMUT cadre.

ALKA JHA IS MEMBER, PLANNING AND HRD, POSTAL SERVICES BOARD Ms Alka Jha has been posted as Member (Plan-ning and HRD), Postal Services Board, Depart-ment of Posts, Ministry of Communications, New Delhi, on promotion to the grade of HAG+. She is a 1987 batch Indian Postal Service (IPoS) offi cer.

S MERVIN ALEXANDER IS MEMBER, PERSONNEL, POSTAL SERVICES BOARD S Mervin Alexander has been posted as Member (Personnel), Postal Services Board, Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, New Delhi, on promotion to the grade of HAG+. He is a 1987 batch Indian Postal Service (IPoS) offi cer.

ADDITIONAL CHARGE FOR YOGENDER CHAUDHARY IN HARYANA Yogender Chaudhary, Advisor, Resource Mo-bilization Cell in CM’s Offi ce and PS, Haryana, Foreign Cooperation Department, has been given additional charge of works related to CM an-nouncements. He is a 1989 batch IRS offi cer.

THREE IPS OFFICERS GET NEW ASSIGNMENTS IN MAHARASHTRAK Venkatesham has been appointed Director, Civil Defence, Mumbai, while Sandeep Bishnoi was posted as DG, Legal & Technical, and V V Phan-salkar is MD, State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation Limited, Mumbai in Maharashtra.

POWERGallery

By arrangement with: http://whispersinthecorridors.com

RAGA: A CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED AGAINST INDIANew Delhi: Former Congress President Ra-hul Gandhi on Tuesday once again attacked the Modi government for its inaction as “many

innocent people” con-tinued to lose the battle against Covid and said a crime has been com-mitted against India.

He said the only way to stop the

apocalyptic march of the pan-d e m i c was an immedi-ate com-p l e t e l o c k -d o w n

with the protection of NYAY scheme for the vulnerable sections.

“Government of In-dia (GOI) doesn’t get it. The only way to stop the spread of Corona now is a full lockdown - with the protection of NYAY for the vulnerable sec-tions. Government of India’s inaction is kill-ing many innocent peo-ple,” he tweeted

In another tweet, la-menting at the govern-ment he said, “I just want to make it clear that a lockdown is now

the only option due to lack of strategy by GOI.”

As “innocent people” continued to lose the battle against CovidGovt must deploy all resources: Priyanka

New Delhi: Con-gress General Secre-tary Priyanka Gan-dhi Vadra on Tues-day slammed the govt over Central Vista project, saying, “When people of the country are strug-gling for oxygen, vac-cine, hospital beds and medicines then it would be better if the government put all the resources in saving lives of peo-ple, instead of con-

structing a new house for the Prime Minister worth Rs 13,000 crore,” Priyan-ka Gandhi, who is also the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, said in a tweet in Hindi.

Priyanka Gandhi

Over 4 lakh beneficiaries vaccinated so far, govtNew Delhi: More than four lakh beneficiaries, 18-44 years have been vaccinated till date since the third phase of the vaccination drive commenced on Satur-day, informed the govt on Tuesday morning. 4,06,339 people were vaccinated across 12 states and union terri-tories as on May 3.

According to the of-ficial release by the un-ion health ministry, Chhattisgarh adminis-tered 1,025 vaccine dos-es, Delhi - 40,028, Guja-rat - 1,08,191, Haryana -

55,565, Jammu and Kashmir -5,587, Karna-taka - 2,353, Maharash-tra - 73,714, Odisha -

6,802, Punjab - 635, Ra-jasthan - 76,151, Tamil Nadu - 2,744 and Uttar Pradesh - 33,544. “As on

Day-108 of the vaccina-tion drive, 17,08,390 vac-cine doses were given,” it added. —ANI

Sensex slumps 465 pts; Nifty slips below 14,500Mumbai: Market benchmark Sensex tumbled 465 points on Tuesday, tracking loss-es in index heavy-weights Reliance Indus-tries, HDFC twins and Infosys despite a posi-tive trend in global equities.

The 30-share BSE in-dex ended 465.01 points or 0.95 per cent lower at 48,253.51, and the broad-er NSE Nifty slumped 137.65 points or 0.94 per cent to 14,496.50. Dr Red-dy’s was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shed-ding around 2 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, Sun Phar-ma, HDFC twins, Info-sys, M&M and Power-Grid. On the other hand, ONGC, Bajaj Fi-nance, TCS, Nestle In-dia and SBI.

Char Dham Yatra Management Board issues new guidelines Dehradun: Amid the growing number of COVID-19 cases, Uttara-khand’s Char Dham Management Board on Tuesday laid out a standard operating pro-cedure (SOP) days after Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat suspended the yatra for devotees.

According to the new guideline officially is-sued by the board states that only priests, locals rightfully related to the temples, employees, and officers will be per-mitted entry at the four pilgrimage sites - Badri-nath, Kedarnath, Gan-gotri, and Yamunotri. However, it is mandato-

ry to carry negative COVID reports from heading to any of these temples. The Char Dham Yatra was sched-uled for May 14 this year.

Speaking to the me-

dia, Uttarakhand CM on April 29 said, “Utta-rakhand government has suspended Char Dham Yatra this year in view of COVID-19 situa-tion in the state. Only priests of the four tem-

ples will perform ritu-als and puja.” Uttara-khand has been record-ing a rise in coronavi-rus cases. As per the official data released, the state has 55,436 ac-tive COVID cases. —ANI

Visual from Badrinath temple.

Centre allocates supplies received from abroadNew Delhi: The Union government has allo-cated the Covid-19 med-ical supplies received from the global commu-nity to various states and UTs.

The govt said it is tak-ing steps for expedi-tious clearance and dis-tribution of the medical and other relief.

It created a cell under Addl. Secretary [Health], MoHFW to co-ordinate the receipt and allocation of foreign Covid relief material as grants, aid and dona-tions.

Functioning from April 26, it comprises of one Joint Secretary on deputation from Minis-try of Education, two

Addl. Secy level officers from MEA, Chief Com-missioner Customs, Economic Advisor from Ministry of Civil Avia-tion, Technical Advisor Dte. GHS, Representa-tives from HLL, two Joint Secretaries from MoHFW and Secretary General along with an-other representatives from IRCS. —ANI

Supplies received from US.

JAB FOR 18 PLUS! Medic administers Covid vaccine dose to a benefi ciary on Tuesday.

Remdesivir production is 1.05 cr nowNew Delhi: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing demand for Remdesivir, Union Min-ister for state chemical and Fertiliser Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said that the production of Remdesivir injection has increased to 1.05 crore monthly. The demand for Remdesivir is increasing day by day in different parts of the country due to increase cases increasing cases.

IAF brings O2 cylinders, other equipment Chennai: Nearly 35 tonnes of equipment, including 450 empty oxygen cylinders do-nated by the UK and airlifted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Britain arrived on Tuesday. According to the Indian Red Cross Society, UK donated 5,000 cylinders to India through it to meet the emergency requirement for empty oxygen cylinders during the second wave.

WHO CAN ENTER?

Rahul Gandhi

Telecom Service Providers to start 5G trials in many locations across IndiaNew Delhi: The Depart-ment of Telecommuni-cations (DoT) on Tues-day permitted Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for conducting trials for use & applica-tions of 5G technology.The permission letters specify that each TSP will have to conduct tri-als in rural and semi-urban settings also in addition to urban set-tings so that the benefit of 5G technology prolif-erates across the coun-try and is not confined only to urban areas. In

an official press release by the Ministry of Com-munications, the appli-cant TSPs have been stated as follows - Bharti Airtel Ltd, Reliance Jio-Infocomm Ltd, Vodafone Idea Ltd and MTNL. These TSPs have tied up with original equip-ment manufacturers and technology provid-ers which are Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and C-DOT. In addition, Reli-ance JioInfocomm Ltd will also be conducting trials using its own in-digenous technology.

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SOURCE : THECONVERSATION.COM

BLOOD CLOTS BLOOD CLOTS AND THE AND THE

JOHNSON & JOHNSON & JOHNSON JOHNSON

VACCINEVACCINE

1. What are the blood clots?

A small number of people in the US have developed

dangerous blood clots after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The clots have mostly been occurring in people’s brains and, par-adoxically, are associated with low platelet counts.

Normally, platelets help a person stop bleeding when they get injured. If you get a cut or have an injury, the body responds by sending platelets which act as a temporary patch. The patch attracts other platelets and they stick to-gether to stop blood loss. Since platelets normally help the clotting process, this combination of low platelets and extreme clot-ting makes these clots medically unusual.

These specific types of clots – called cerebral ve-nous sinus thrombosis – al-though rare, affect around two to five people per mil-lion per year and are poten-tially life-threatening with-out treatment. Vaccines aren’t normally a trigger for this kind of clot.

2. Who is having these clots?

As of April 24, 2021, out of the 8 million people vaccinated

with the Johnson & John-son vaccine in the US, about 16 people have devel-oped these blood clots. The clots occurred from six to 13 days after immuniza-tion, and the majority were in women between the ages of 18 and 48.

On April 26, 2021, news reports indicated that at least one man had devel-oped a clot. The man is in his 30s and was hospital-ized from a clot in his leg about two weeks after re-ceiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Health officials in Eu-rope have also reported that the AstraZeneca vac-cine – a COVID-19 vaccine authorized and approved in Europe but not in the U.S. – has caused about 200 cases of low-platelet clot-ting. Importantly, both the Johnson & Johnson vac-cine and the AstraZeneca vaccine use a type of harmless virus called an adenovirus to deliver in-structions to the human

body on how to build an immune response to COV-ID-19. This is called a viral vector vaccine.

The fact that the both vac-cines use a viral vector and both are associated with blood clots has led many health experts to think that the clotting issues of the two vaccines may share the same mechanism.

3. Why are women getting more clots than men?

At this point, doc-tors still don’t know what makes

women more susceptible than men, nor what puts a person at risk for these clots. These clots can oc-cur, though rarely, in peo-ple who don’t get a vac-cine. Scientists know that women are three times more likely to develop this type of clot without re-ceiving the vaccine. Many researchers think this is because of birth control or other hormonal replace-ments that women take.

4. Why might the vaccines be causing blood clots?

Researchers believe that this specific low-platelet clot-

ting is similar to a reac-tion some individuals get when they receive a blood thinner called heparin, called heparin-induced

thrombocytopenia.Doctors sometimes use

heparin to thin a person’s blood in the case of a heart attack or a blood clot when blood flow needs to be re-established. But some peo-ple experience the oppo-site reaction, and their blood ends up clotting more instead. This hap-pens because the body triggers an unwanted im-mune response after re-ceiving heparin.

In these patients, hepa-rin attaches to a product

released from platelets called platelet factor 4. When this happens, the immune system consid-ers the combined platelet factor 4 and heparin a problem, so it creates an-tibodies in response. These antibodies attach to the heparin and plate-let factor 4 complex, and the body – which now thinks it needs to repair an injury – causes more clotting while using up even more platelets. This results in the low platelet

count seen in these pa-tients.

When doctors have looked at the blood of pa-tients who developed clots after receiving the John-son & Johnson or Astra-Zeneca vaccine, it looked very similar to the blood of people who have the low-platelet clotting reac-tion to heparin. This has led scientists and doctors to believe that the same process might be leading to these clots caused by the two vaccines.

MOUSUMI SOM

Professor of Internal Medicine, Oklahoma State University

Two vaccines – the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the U.S. and the AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe – have been linked to an increased chance of a rare type of blood clot. Researchers are investigating what causes these clots and are starting to propose some answers. Dr Mousumi Som, a professor of medicine at Oklahoma State University, explains what these rare clots are and how they are forming after people get vaccinated.

—AP PHOTO/DAVID ZALUBOW

SKI

Thrombocytopenia occurs when the platelet count is less than 150,000, affecting clotting.

Scientists and doctors believe that a similar process might be leading to clots caused by the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Life is a mix of happiness and joy along with challenges and tribulations. We all struggle -

what matters is not to give up.—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, First India

AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia082ND FRONT

zDespite the Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed policy of the BJP, Mamata Banerjee re-corded historic victo-ry. How do you per-ceive and assess this victory?Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed is narrative of every po-litical party and there was nothing new in that this time. But its very first meaning and mes-sage is that democracy is alive in the country and public gives decisive mandate. The second message is that prati-shodh mrityu ka karan hai (Revenge is cause of death). And beyond a point, if you want to sup-press a political rival, then the move becomes counterproductive. The third message is that Mamata is now the na-tional opposition and the credit goes to top BJP leadership, who have un-fortunately positioned themselves against a re-gional leader. If we term it sarcastically, the credit goes to top BJP leader-ship, who have unfortu-nately positioned them-selves against a regional leader. The fourth and the biggest message is that political manage-ment has a limit, this election has proved it. There is a limit to the narrative. There is limit to Hindu-Muslim card. And in political manage-ment, the ‘Modi-Shah jodi’ is superhit in all In-dia. But at state level, when a ‘Satrap’ is there, the chances are reduced to 50:50 and there is a challenge. Be it Mamata in West Bengal, Stalin in DMK, Naveen Patnaik in Odisha, Uddhav Thack-eray or Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra, Soren in Jharkhand, the biggest message is that the BJP leadership will have to think and analyse that political management has a limit. So the ‘All-India Model’ is different than the ‘State Model.’ And the narrative will have to change as per lo-cal conditions. For in-stance, McDonald’s glob-al model did not work in India, so they changed recipe as per Indian fla-vours and it was super-hit. Likewise, the BJP will have to promote lo-cal leadership. BJP lead-ership will possibly learn from this experience and re-draft their policies.

zTalking of ‘Sa-traps,’ BJP has been contesting on the name of Modi, but did not have a local face in West Bengal. Which are five main factors behind Mama-ta’s historic victory and BJP’s loss?The first factor, I feel, is the sentiment of over-

confidence in BJP be-cause of the misleading feedback given by the intelligence agencies. The second reason was serious vacuum at the lo-cal level and absence of credible local faces for contesting polls and large scale defection from TMC proved coun-terproductive. The third and very important fac-tor is that all 130 leaders tasked with polls just fo-cused on pulling crowd for rallies of Prime Min-ister, Amit Shah, JP Na-dda. This led to crowd – natural and managed - in rallies of BJP, but Mama-ta did not bother about the crowd. So BJP work-ers spent half of time in managing numbers for rallies and receiving leaders from Delhi at air-ports. This feedback must have reached Modi-Shah also that local workers could not be spared for canvassing. Another reason is better polarisation by Mamata of Matua, Muslim and women votes. Amit Shah was focused on manag-ing Matua from day one and he was confident be-cause the community af-fects about 70 seats. But they could not be man-aged and shifted towards Mamata. She played on the CAA sentiments and gave local land rights to people and better played the card. Muslim votes, around 28%, were polar-ised. Another factor was women voters (49%). Women have been influ-enced by Modi’s schemes but this time, Mamata’s local schemes were so good or Mamata on wheel chair appealed and influenced them more. Another factor was ‘Bechari Mamata ka abhyudaya’ (emergence of a helpless and poor Mamata on a wheel chair. ) It led to perception that outside people are tortur-ing her so people sup-ported her. As Hindu-Muslim polarisation in Gujarat in 2002 worked in favour of Narendra Modi, so being ‘bechara’ worked for Mamata now.

z Though BJP has risen from 3 to 77 seats from 2016 which is a winning record still why is there a feeling of defeat in the BJP?The feeling of failure or defeat that they are expe-riencing is because ‘ex-pectations are the trage-dy of life’. They won 18 seats in Lok Sabha and vis-a-vis they scored lead in 128 Assembly seats. Mamata won 22 seats and her lead is on 158 seats. But BJP had a rea-sonable base for dream-ing of crossing 200 seats. Over confidence was there, but BJP rose from

3 to 77 seats. The way Modi-Shah did wonder-ful work in election man-agement there, it seemed that two leaders were on one side, whereas, the entire party was on the other. How they will emerge out of it, time will tell. One learns by experience and defeats.

zHindutva, Matua, Dalit cards were played. Attempts were made to break TMC despite that Mamata crosses 200. What do you feel is the factor behind this?Bengal ki Beti slogan is there and fate is a major factor. When there was the perception that BJP will sweep, a Jaipur nu-merologist Dr Kumar Ganesh had told me that the Mamata will only form the government. When I visited Bengal before elections, there was general perception that BJP will sweep and I returned to Jaipur with the same perception. However, after a week, I felt that surveys were right and my analysis was wrong.

zTMC won, but Mamata lost in Nandi-gram. How do you per-ceive this defeat?When misfortune comes it comes in battalions. It’s fate. CP Joshi in Ra-jasthan had also lost with 1 vote even though he was being considered as the contender for the CM’s post. We had gone to join his nomination rally, but could not reach there due to an accident. It was fate. So, it is just fate that she lost.

zMamata is accusing irregularity in re-counting and she wanted to approach the Supreme Court. What do you think will happen in the SC?I think she should first approach the High Court as the normal practice is. Politicians usually trade allegations after defeat. She has her own analysis that how could she lose when her party won with massive support? I do not think that any election officer will do irregular-ity while knowing that she is repeating as the CM. Gossips and ru-mours keep circulating.

zMamata will be sworn in on May 5 and her cabinet on

May 6. Will this gov-ernment complete 5 years because of the opposition from the BJP?Well, Mamata is also sus-picious of horse- trading. As far BJP’s opposition is concerned, it will depend on State and Centre’s re-lations. If there is acri-mony in relations of Modi-Shah and Mamata then it is clear that ‘Eve-rything is fair in love and war.’ The threat of defec-tion and horse- trading will remain until there are cordial Centre-State relations. We also expect-ed better relations be-tween Mamata and Gov-ernor Jagdeep Dhankhar, though they had a cordial beginning at the time of the Governor’s swearing -in , which I had also at-tended. Mamata was about to leave when Jagdeep ji asked her to stay for tea and she stayed for 45 minutes at the func-tion. So, we were hopeful at the time. But then things became difficult between them.

zMamata will have to win from any seat in six months. Will it lead to test of strength for Modi and Mamata?She may request for ear-ly election and she may contest from Mandwa. As far as five years are concerned, it entirely de-pends on the relations with the Centre. If there is conflict, it may lead to more violent incidents. I think BJP should show magnanimity and let her get elected unanimously. Violence this time has been less due to efforts of Election Commission of India & the Union Home Ministry.

zPM Modi congratu-lated Mamata on vic-tory and offered all possible help in Coro-na times. How do you perceive this diplo-matic move?It is a welcome move and West Bengal public has welcomed the PM’s tweet. He acted as the ‘Statesman.’ Modi’s strong point is that his feedback system is quite strong. There is hope of positive and construc-tive relations in future also. Bengal is part of India, so its development is India’s development.

zThere were charges of corruption against kin of Mamata and CBI, IT, ED were in-vestigating. Will that speed maintain even now?Many people believe that action of agencies was quite politically- orient-ed because of the timing. It happened during the UPA’s regime too. There is hope of a halt on such actions – on merit or without merit – as it will send across wrong mes-sage. Cases of graft are strong, but I feel there may not be strong action in three-four months.

zThere is perception in Kolkata that Mar-wari community voted for BJP against Mamata. How will it impact now?Yes, there is a percep-tion. But it does not seem that Mamata will react negatively to it be-cause finance is the key and 70% business of Bengal lies with the Marwaris. There will be conflict for a few days and then they will settle.

zMamata questioned neutrality of the ECI, but results project a different picture. How do you see it?The ECI worked in a well-organised man-ner, conducted polls in 8 phases that became an issue. It led to ten-sion, but if the ECI was biased, then could Mamata register such a landslide victory. The results have proved that the ECI was independent, non-biased, and fair. Ma-dras HC’s remark on ECI was beyond judi-cial outreach. Ban-ning political rallies is job of the Union Gov-ernment not of the ECI.

zWill Mamata emerge as a main face of opposition at the national level?It may happen because now sentiment is ‘Didi is No. 1.’ And now weak op-position has got strength to fight back. But this is too earlier to say that Mamata will be a nation-al face. But she seems to be a LoP’s star cam-paigners in 2024. She will be a better performer than Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar or Mayawati. She may emerge as a leader in about 12 to 14 states.

z If that happens what will be role of Con-gress and does it seem that Rahul Gandhi’s leadership is lost?Rahul Gandhi and entire Congress leadership, af-ter defeat in 5 states, are in a state of distress, de-moralised, disappointed. As far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned, his corona-tion as ‘Party head’ has been deferred due to one reason or the other. But there is no reason after these elections. Now, there is another mysteri-ous revelation that he is ready, but wants free hand for which Sonia Gandhi has reservations in her mind. He may not emerge as national lead-er in 2024, but he is no doubt the best bet to counter Modi. At the same time, BJP also con-siders him the best bet as weak opposition. It is a black chapter in history of Congress that the par-ty does not have a single seat in such a large state. So, the less Rahul Gan-dhi is discussed, the bet-ter it is. He is young, en-

ergetic but he lacks basic grip in politics.

zCongress in Ra-jasthan performed better. How do you per-ceive Ashok Gehlot’s performance here?In Bengal Didi is No. 1, in Rajasthan Gehlot is No. 1. His magic is in-tact. Raghu Sharma and Dharmedra Rathore are credited, but ultimately Gehlot is the leader. Neither Sonia Gandhi nor Ra-hul Gandhi cam-paigned here, Ajay Maken just super-vised. Some say it is courtesy; Vasundhara Raje, but I do not think so, as overall Ashok Gehlot’ s leadership is intact. Sometimes, I consider seriously that he may comeback in 2023.

zAny hope of Cabinet expansion and politi-cal appointments? Any big changes in Rajasthan Congress after bypolls?I do not foresee Cabi-net expansion of po-litical appointments as fight is with Corona at present. As far as time-line is concerned, Ajay Maken has already burnt his fingers by announcing dates ear-lier. I would advise as-pirants also to work in the field and think of people. There will be no change in leader-ship also as its the one man show – Ashok Ge-hlot. As far as Sachin Pilot is concerned, he is young, handsome development- oriented & people- friendly, but here is no such vacan-cy so far. Most people of Pilot camp are in tough fight with Ge-hlot and everyone’s fo-cus now is on Corona management. Opera-tion Lotus is also not going to affect.

zHow will bypolls af-fect BJP’s internal politics?It would not make much impact as elec-tion has been a ‘face- saver’ only. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was busy in West Bengal and Vasundhara Raje wasn’t active due to personal reasons. Satish Poonia has saved his face by win-ning one seat, so there is not threat to him also.

zWhat is your take on results in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry?The results are perfect and on expected lines ex-cept West Bengal. In As-sam, it is a repeat. CM is good and known for a clean image. Kerala and Tamil Nadu victory is big for strengthening democratic forces.

zLeft ruled for 34 years, but did not get a seat this time. Why?Mamata’s popularity coupled with misman-agement and non-clarity in the Left and also not taking election seriously resulted in this result for the left.

zDid surge in Corona cases impact the last 3 phases? It affected popularity of the PM Modi?It may be. Though the health is a subject related to the State, but a large picture is projected that the Centre is not han-dling the situation prop-erly. We can conclude there has been a downfall of 15% in popularity of Narendra Modi, it may be because of Corona or may be due to the stars.

zRSS played active role along with BJP at the grassroots level in Bengal & Kerala, but did not fare well. Will Mohan Bhagwat bring any major change in working of RSS?Mohan Bhagwat and the RSS will obviously brain-storm over this and seri-ously think about the debacle in West Bengal.

zWill BJP change its strategy in UP?Bengal results have sent waves up to Luc-know about the ‘Mamata factor.’ On the other hand , Yogi’s popularity is unabat-ed in Uttar Pradesh and he has a good team of officers like Navneet Sehgal and Awanish Awasthi. There maybe some is-sue because of the im-pact of farmers’ agita-tion and polarisation of Muslims but there is still time and the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is work-ing very well on ground level.

zWill stature of pow-erful regional leaders like Ashok Gehlot and Amarinder Singh in-crease in days to come?Gehlot’s stature is al-ready high & will sure-ly increase. Regional leadership should be promoted instead of forced national leader-ship. Gehlot and Ama-rinder are obviously powerful regional leaders and are in themselves ‘High Com-mand,’ especially Ge-hlot. He is as good as the Party President.

During the show #w Victory trended all In-

dia on Twitter

Didi is no.1 in Bengal, Gehlot no.1 in Raj: JC Editor-In-Chief of First India, Jagdeesh Chandra, in The New JC Show, provides a deep insight on Didi’s unprecedented ‘Bijoy in Bengal,’ factors

responsible for BJP’s defeat in polls, why Modi-Shah continue to rule the roost as far as political management is concerned, how BJP needs to re-draft its policies to prove a stronghold and how the ‘People’s man’ CM Gehlot continues to enjoy the status of the ‘No 1 leader in Rajasthan’ and much more...

Jagdeesh Chandra with (from left): Vijendra Solanki, Megha Kaushik, Akanksha Bhalla, Shweta Mishra, Aditi Nagar and Ashutosh Sharma during The New JC Show.

Jagdeesh Chandra during The New JC Show.

THE RISE OF RETRO FASHION

MAKING THE LEAP FROM NEW CLOTHING TO VINTAGE CAN BE A BIT TOUGH FOR SOME PEOPLE. CITY FIRST BRINGS TO

YOU REASONS TO WEAR VINTAGE AND GO RETRO!

hen I was a teen-ager my mom gave me a diamante bracelet and a pol-ka dots scarf. I wore them often in my college days

and even though it has worn out slightly, I still wear them and love them to this day. What is old school fashion? Its ingre-dients are that of fashions from the 1970s t h r o u g h

the 1980s. Our fashion-conscious young adults and teens are the source for bringing back Old School Fashion. The arti-cle aims at those who are yet to fall in love with the fashion pre-loved!

Timeless styles: In a so-ciety that revolves around ever-changing trends, it is a relief to own some piec-es that you know are going to withstand the test of time. Vintage and retro clothing is built to last. It can endure the changing tides of fashion trends, making it the perfect long-term addition to your wardrobe.

A unique look: Do you want to avoid those

awkward matching-outfit moments when you’ve spent so much time per-fecting your look? If so, a retro revival is

the best way forward. As well as minimizing the chance of clashes with your friends, you’re bound to stand out with your ret-ro pieces.

A nostalgic experience:There is a certain appeal about rifling through vin-tage shops to find that per-fect piece. Modern clothes shopping can lack chal-lenge, with rails of repli-cas laid out as far as the eye can see. It will never give you the same satisfac-tion you feel when you come across a unique vin-tage gem after a lengthy search.

MITALI DUSADmitalidusad01@gmail.com

W

AHMEDABAD, WEDNESDAYMAY 5, 2021

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10ETC

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FACE

OF TH

E DAY

ASHLEY KAUR, Model

LEOJULY 24 - AUGUST 23

You will put in extra efforts to complete a task entrusted to you. Your academic aspirations may

take some time to get realised. A contentious property issue may not show any signs of getting sorted out amicably, so have a backup plan ready. Financial worries evaporate.

LIBRA SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

A long journey may prove to be both tiring and uncomfortable. A major purchase may make a dent

in your savings, but will help in keeping up with the Joneses! Speculation may not be profi table and you can very well burn your fi ngers.

ARIESMAR 21 - APR 20

Your dreams of achieving big are likely to be realised soon. Focussing on your career graph at this

juncture will be a step that will take you far. A rethink is in order for those going in for a heavy investment. Recovering a loaned amount will not pose much diffi culty.

SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 - DEC 22

Homemakers will get a chance to implement their ideas. You are likely to be recognised for your efforts

on the professional front. Some of you can be invited for guidance or consultancy. Chance of a raise is possible for some. Timely and correct decision will help you in saving money.

GEMINIMAY 21 - JUNE 21

You succeed in putting an ambitious project on the tracks and cross all hurdles in making it a

success. Love beckons and promises to give immense joy and fulfi llment. Your consistency in performance on the academic front will be noticed by those who matter.

AQUARIUSJAN 21 - FEB 19

Satisfaction is foreseen for the image conscious people trying to achieve perfect fi gure and physique. You will

succeed in surmounting the odds to get a stalled job back on the tracks. Your efforts on the academic front will keep you in contention. You are likely to spend an enjoyable time today.

TAURUSAPR 21 - MAY 20

You remaining on the saving mode will help you strengthen your fi nancial front. Those planning to

study abroad are likely to get a chance of a lifetime. Your innovative ideas on the professional front are likely to be well received. Spirituality will have a special allure for you.

CAPRICORNDEC 23 - JAN 20

A positive outlook will help you throw out the negativity within. Job prospects for those freshly

out of professional institutes are set to brighten up soon. You will manage to ignore distractions and interruptions at work to complete a pending task in time.

VIRGOAUG 24 - SEP 23

Although money is not a problem, you will have to curb wasteful expenditure. Sticking to workout routine

may benefi t you on the health front. New opportunities will be seized on the professional front. Meeting relatives at a marriage or party cannot be ruled out.

CANCERJUNE 22 - JULY 23

It is one of those days when you will feel satisfi ed with whatever you do today on the social front!

Those seeking love may not get lucky, but persistence will pay! Those in the rat race may fi nd it diffi cult to pip the rivals at the post. A friend or relative can touch a sensitive nerve.

PISCESFEB20 - MARCH 20

Your energy and dynamism will get you what you aim for today on the academic front. This is the day to

play your winning card on the professional front. A lot of time may be wasted in socialising, but you will love every moment of it. Your upbeat mood will brighten aura.

SCORPIOOCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

A profi table day for entrepreneurs is envis-aged. You may be played upon for spending on

someone else’s needs and desires. Health matters gain priority and will motivate for achieving total fi tness. Homemakers are likely to enjoy the day in the company of neighbors.

YOUR DAY

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

he Spaniards got it right, they have an old saying that roughly translates to if you are forced to choose be-tween love and soup, always choose soup!

That perhaps would be a com-mon enough sentiment across Europe, given the place of pride soup occupies in every meal on the continent.

The word soup comes from the French soupe meaning broth, which in turn comes from a corruption of Latin sup-pa, which was thick bread soaked in broth. In Germany, they like their soup with thick crêpe dunked in it. The cave-man discovered 20,000 years ago how to make clay pots and stoneware, and one of the first things he used these artefacts for, was making soup. Meat that he had hunted would be thrown inside the pot and cooked over a slow fire with plenty of water.

At some point, he discovered that the water used to cook meat was as edible as the meat itself, so it added variety to his meal. Then he must have said to him-self if I can do this with meat, why not with vegetables! And bingo, the soup was born!

In France, there are all kinds of soups. Thick or clear, depend-ing on your social status. Con-sommé or clear soup is pre-ferred by rich people. They cook vegetables with water and make soup only with water. Bouillon is the same except that it is con-sumed by the poor people and they eat it thick along with the vegetables. In winter, however, even the rich people in France eat thick soup with vegetables, to combat the cold.

Hot or cold, depending on the season in France. It is unthink-

able to have dinner in winter without the comfort of a hot vegetable broth. Charles Dick-ens called it Grandmama’s Broth in Pickwick Papers be-cause it indicated comfort and filial love. It is such an impor-tant meal in France that there is a whole industry around it in the form of canned/dehydrated soups, lining the shelves of su-permarkets. Cold soups made from tomatoes called gazpacho (Italian) are everyone’s hot fa-vourite along with cucumber and yoghurt soup.

Normally, soup in France is a vegetable extract. If it is non-veg, then the meat is added to it before consuming. The excep-tion is in Marseilles, which has a very popular fish soup made from small fish which other-wise can’t be eaten.

Soup in France varies from region to region as each region prides itself on bringing a local touch to soups. Burgundy, which makes the best wine region in the world, has Chabro, which is a soup with red wine added to it before eating. In Jura, a region well-known for its cheese, it is a sacrilege to eat soup without adding grated cheese to it. Nor-mandy, a region rich in cream,

puts a spoonful of cream in its soup.

Each region of France makes its soup with vegetables grown locally. In northern France cab-bage is used to make soup, Cor-sica prefers chestnut soup and southern France likes tomato soup.

In India, our attitude to soups is very different. In our next col-umn, we will discuss Indian soups in detail.

Nandini Vaidyanathan is a corporate professional, entrepreneur, author, and mountain climber. She also thinks she’s a gourmet cook. So she right-swiped Michelin Star, French Chef, Dominique Fieux, on a dating app.

T

A Soupy Affair!Michelin Star Chef Dominique

Fieux’s Recipe:STAR ANISE & CARROT SOUP Combining carrot and star anise gives a

very fine taste to this soup

Peel and cut into pieces 500 grams of car-rot.

Cook with butter in a saucepan and add 5 pieces of star anise and 1 litre of water.

Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook.

After 15 minutes, remove the star anise. Cook for another 30 minutes.

Add 200 grams of coconut milk and some curry leaves

Run it in the mixer. Serve it hot.

Onion soup with cheese Typical vegetable soup with mixed vegetables

Carrot soup with Star anise Cream of Cauliflower (Creme du Barre)

Fish soup typical of Marseilles

The second wave of Coronavirus is affecting everyone’s life in the country. As the 15-days Janta Cur-few was announced, celebrities jet-

ted off to the Maldives to relax. Actress Janhvi Kapoor also travelled to the beach destination. She had been treating her fans with beautiful p i c -tures from there. And now she has issued a clarifica-tion say-ing that the pic-ture was shot be-fore lock-down and was done with all p r e c a u -tions.

—Agency

alongside me. I have given so many auditions at his casting agency since the time I started my career, he would enact the scenes with me as my co-actor and give me the necessary critique. I could easily discuss my character and story with him.”

On May the 4th, otherwise known as Star Wars Day, Disney+ Hotstar Premi-um will release a brand-

new original Star Wars series, “Star Wars: The Bad Batch;” a first-of-its-kind Star Wars-themed short from “The Simpsons;” and multiple themed cinematic expe-riences in celebration of a galaxy far, far away. As a special treat for fans, Disney+ Hotstar Premium will debut “Maggie Simpson in ‘The Force Awakens From Its Nap,’” a new Star Wars-inspired short, bringing characters from the Star Wars galaxy to the fic-tional town of Springfield. The new promotion-al short is the first of several from “The Simpsons” that Disney+ Hotstar Premium will release throughout the year paying trib-ute to the service’s marquee brands and titles. —Agency

ETCwww.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021

11

Even after the Grammys announced the disband-ment of their secret com-mittees and allowed vot-

ing, The Weeknd admitted that he is still boycotting the awards show. The Weeknd and other stars publicly chastised the nominees, so the decision comes as no surprise.“The trust has been broken for so long between the Grammy organization and artists that it would be unwise to raise a victory flag,” he shared.

—Agency

During NBA Special Edi-tion’s broadcast, Mar-vel’s Arena of Heroes would give an exclusive

sneak peek look at Loki during halftime. The match-up between Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans would fea-ture an all-new Avengers story. The telecast has created a lot of hype amongst Marvel fans as it would include an interview with The Falcon and the Winter Sol-dier actor Anthony Mackie. The star, who had previously opened up about his journey on becom-ing Captain America, is likely to share his experience on the same. —Agency

Ac t o r s A n y a Taylor-Joy and

K e e g a n - M i -chael Key are all set to make their Saturday Night Live de-buts as hosts in the 46th season of the show. NBC recently revealed the lineup for its fi-nal two epi-sodes of the current season and fans were more than happy to see The Queen’s Gambit star and Schmigadoon! lead’s names to host the final two episodes. The an-nouncement also confirmed the musi-cal guests for both episodes and Lil Nax X and Olivia Rodrigo will be en-tertainers for the evening. —Agency

Bill and Melinda Gates, on May 3, announced in a joint statement that they had filed for divorce. Bill and Melinda first met in 1987 at a trade show in New York. In 1994, the couple

got married at an exotic wedding in Hawaii. “Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, pro-ductive lives.”, the couple announced. —Agency

Film Vanrakshak based on true incidents in Himachal Pradesh, is currently streaming on the ShemarooMe Box office. Directed by Pawan Kumar Sharma, it stars Dhirendra

Thakur in lead. It also stars Yashpal Sharma, Adi-tya Shrivastava, Rajesh Jais, Falak Khan. On talk-ing about the film lead actor Dhirendra said, “Van-rakshak is inspired by a true story. It’s a film based on Environment Conservation and Global Warm-ing. I am playing the role of a forest guard, named ‘Chiranjilal Chouhan’ who always wanted to serve his nation. —CITY FIRST

CITY FIRST

Nu s h r r a t t B h a r u c c h a and Abhishek B a n e r j e e

were recently seen in their latest release, Ajeeb Daastaans. The duo shared great chemistry on-screen in their film and Nushrratt opens up on the reason behind the same. The versa-tile actress shared, “It was truly a bless-ing that Abhishek Banerjee was cast in the Ajeeb Daastaans

Jacqueline Fernandez has set up the You Only Live Once foundation to cre-ate and share stories of

kindness in everyday life. She has tied up with several NGOs that cater to the different needs in our society. Now, when the world needs it more than ever before, the actress has set up a platform to pro-vide relief and help to those who need it. With an NGO called the Roti B a n k , J a c q u e -line will be pro-viding 1 L a k h Meals this month.

—City First

Jacqueline launches YOLO foundation

Divorce after 27 years A true story, Vanrakshak May the force be with you

On-screen chemistry

Boycotting Grammys

Sneak Peek

A Strong Belief

Ekta Kapoor has produced content that was ahead of its time. Recently Ekta Ka-poor shared her take on

giving opportunities to writers, “I need to hear the story. First of all, I don’t read it easily. I like stories being told, I believe in that very old school way. I be-lieve when a writer narrates a story it gets a life of its own.

—City First

Twitter account SUSPENDEDK

angana Ranaut who uses the power of social media to speak her mind and tweet regularly faced the wrath of social media on Tuesday.

Kangana Ranaut’s Twitter account was suspended by the social media platform. The actress has been time and again al-legedly accused of inciting violence via her tweets.

—Agency

Janhvi issues clarification

Musical nights@ SNL

Bill & Melinda Gates

A still from the film, ‘Vanrakshak’

Poster of the Star Wars series

Nushrratt Bharuccha

Inayat Verma, Nushrat Bharucha and Abhishek Banerjee in Ajeeb Daastaans

Anya Taylor-Joy

The Weeknd

Poster of the series, ‘Loki’

Ekta Kapoor

Jacqueline FernandezJanhvi Kapoor

Kangana Ranaut

CITY FIRST

The Department of English, SKIT, hosted the inaugural

ceremony of the three-day international con-ference on ‘New Direc-tions in English Lan-guage Teaching: Is-sues, Practices, Chal-lenges’ on Tuesday. The Chief Guest and the first keynote speaker was Dr Sab-rina Sembiante, Asso-ciate Professor, Florida Atlantic University, USA. The Guest of Hon-our and the second Keynote speaker was Prof. V Ganeshan, Former VC, EFLU, currently living in the USA.

Dr Sabrina Sembi-ante in her address on

‘English in Context: Not a Single Language but a Set of Registers for Different Contexts

and Purposes’ de-lineated the value of language from three perspectives:

language for experi-ence, language as an interpersonal and so-cial connect and lan-guage for constructing cohesive messages. Prof. Ganeshan in his talk on ‘Teaching and

Learning English in India: Some Critical Remarks’ wittily brought to the fore some interesting facets of Indian English.

The first technical session was coordinat-ed by Prof Krishna and chaired by Prof. Preeti Bhatt. The pro-gramme was moderat-ed by Dr Geetika Patni, the organizing Secre-tary of the conference.

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

REMEMBERING BAPU...

12AHMEDABAD | WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

CITY BUZZGET VACCINATED

STAY MASKED

Rajasthan Foun-dation, a non-profit organisa-tion established

by the Rajasthan gov-ernment, held a live session on Monday, re-membering Bapu in the Covid Times.

The session was held to spread Bapu’s mes-sage of universal love and compassion. Dhi-raj Srivastava, the commissioner of Ra-jasthan Foundation, opened the event by

welcoming the artists and addressing the au-dience. The agen-da was attained by presenting a unique rendition of Gandhi’s favour-ite, Vaishnav Jan Bhajans by various

folklore artists and fa-mous singers includ-

ing Manisha Agar-wal, Sanjay Khan, Amrat Hussain, Tipu Khan, and An-

urag Hussain among others.

—CITY FIRST

New Incharge!

Newly ap-p o i n t e d Vice-Chan-cellor of Bi-

kaner Technical University, Prof. Dr Ambareesh Sharan Vidyarthi assumed the online charge of the vice-chancel-lor University on Tuesday with the permission of the Governor.

Vice-Chancel-lor Prof. Ambar-ish said in his message, that as the head of the university, VC will have an important role in the devel-opment of the uni-versity; his prior-ity will always be that the mutual interests of the university should be given the high-est priority. Ef-forts will be made to establish a Technology Incu-bation Center to connect students with startups and to pave the way for enterprises, to promote startups. —CITY FIRST

CITY FIRST

Dr Atul Luhadia, Professor, De-partment of Res-piratory Medi-

cine from Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital shared his in-sights about the use of inhalers on the occasion of World Asthma Day.

Although, not a seri-ous disease, but asthma demands lifelong treat-ment to maintain a quality of life. Patients are often sceptical about inhalers, but they are the most effective solutions to asthma. The inhaler does not af-fect the brain, so there

is no question of get-ting addicted or having an addiction. After con-sulting the doctor, the inhaler must be select-ed based on the age of the patient and the in-tensity of the disease. The medicine dose should be taken accord-ing to the medicine that the doctor has told the inhaler. The method of use of inhaler should be learned well and should be consulted from time to time by the doctor. The inhaler should be replaced after a certain period. If using a ster-oid inhaler, then rinse it with simple water after every dose, otherwise, a sore throat, blister, pim-ples, or voice may be-come heavy.

cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Why inhalers? EVENTS!

RAJ: Jaipur Citizen Forum President Rajiv Arora announced to set up an oxygen plant at the Government Hospital on the birthday of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. This plant will be set up after consulting Dr Sudhir Bhandariand with public support. A total of 100 beds will be provided with a continuous oxygen supply from this plant. Donations given in this campaign will get the benefit of Section 80G of Income-tax.

GUJ: Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh RSS workers were seen helping 108 ambulance staff, medical staff and relatives of covid-19 patients. They also distributed fruits, juice, drinking water inside covid-19 civil hospital in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

—PHOTO BY HANIF SINDHI

Jagdeesh Chandra with Syed Umar and the team of The JC Show on Monday. From left: Anita Hada, Akshita Dutta, Deepika Singh, Aditi Sharma, Radhika Choudhary, Riya Sain, Shweta Mishra, Ashutosh Sharma, Aditi Nagar, Akanksha Bhalla, Riya Suledia and Vijendra Solanki.

The JC Show!

International conference

THE CROWNINGBEAUTYA

kshita Dutta, a 21 years old professional model from

Ajmer, Rajasthan shared her modelling journey in an exclu-sive interview with City First! She left her job behind to pursue her dreams. She said, “I participated in a state-level pageant and luckily won it which made my mom proud so much and that day, I decided that I will make her proud even more. So I decid-ed to go for three

more pageants. I won the crowning

titles there too and then came

to the biggest beauty pageant of Rajasthan, Elite Miss Ra-jasthan, for which I always

dreamt of.” She further added, “I

won the top 14 positions among thousands of

girls in Rajasthan and my life com-pletely changed un-

der the mentorship of Gaurav Gaur. I started feeling confi-dent and financially independent.” Aksh-ita has won many ti-tles since then and is a part of prestigious fashion shows of the industry as well.

“My goal is to sup-port women empow-erment in future the same way my mom Renu Dutta and Elite Miss Rajasthan do to inspire other small-town girls. Jagdeesh Chandra is a person-ality whom I want to be like.” she said.

Talking about her advice to budding models, Akshita

said, “I would like to advise the newcomers to tie their shoe-laces tight as life is not a bed of flow-ers and so does mod-elling.”

KARISHMA GWALANIkarishma.gwalani@firstindia.co.in

City First shares the journey of a girl from Ajmer, Akshita Dutta, who left her job to pursue her passion!

Akshita Dutta

Dr Ambareesh Sharan

Dr Atul Luhadia

During the musical session

—PHOTO BYSANTOSH SHARMA