First India News Paper|Gujarat-English News Paper Today-02 January 2020 edition

AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 39 PM MODI CONVEYS GOOD WISHES TO MALDIVIAN PREZ Shah learning Bangla to prepare for Bengal polls Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih. —FILE PHOTO Male: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a telephonic call Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih and conveyed him and people of Maldives good wishes for 2020. “Prime (Narendra Modi) had a telephonic tion with President (Ibrahim Solih). Conveyed good wishes for 2020 to him and the people of Mal- dives,” tweeted India in the Maldives. Earlier, Modi held a telephonic conversation with his Nepali counterpart KP Sharma Oli and exchanged new year’s greetings. Both leaders pressed confidence that 2020 will prove to be successful in “elevating bilateral ties” between the two neighbours. Rupani announces 5% DA as new year gift to 9.5 lakh employees Cabinet also decides to set up five medical colleges at an investment of Rs 2,600 crore with LEARNT HINDI IN PRISON New Delhi: BJP Presi- dent Amit Shah has started preparing for the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election by learning Bengali. Shah aims to learn Bangla so that the language doesn’’t becomes a barrier while making strategies for the polls. He also plans to start his ad- dress during his cam- paign in the state with Bangla to connect in a better way with the public. He has appointed a teach- er also for the same. Trinamool gress chief and West Bengal Chief Minis- ter Mamata Banerjee coined a slogan ‘’Ma Mati Manush’’ (Moth- er, Motherland and People) and in her re- Mohamed Minister conversa- the language. Accord- ing to a senior BJP leader of West Bengal, there is nothing new in it. The BJP President is learning four different languages Bangla and Tamil. Notably, Shah is flu- ent in Hindi despite being from Gujarat because he learnt Hindi while he was in prison and was prohibited from entering Gujarat for two years. Shah has also learned classical music and he practices it to relax. cent addresses she strongly spoke up for Bengali pride. She even termed Shah as an outsider. Shah is believed to be an expert in making electoral strategies and he makes strategies for each election. But after failing in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, wants to control the West Bengal Assembly polls. Therefore, make a better connect with the party workers he has started learning Mohamed including different Con- he ex- to Shah doesn’t want language to be a barrier while strategising for the West Bengal Assembly polls, especially after the failures in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand. —FILE PHOTO RUPANI DENIES SPECULATIONS... Haresh Jhala 2019 to January 2020 D.A. will be paid to the employees and pensioners along with the salary of January . The sched- ule for the next two phases of the DA dis- bursement will be declared later, Patel said. The Deputy Chief Minister stated that the government’s regular and permanent employees are 9.61 lakh, including over 4.5 lakh pensioners, who will get the benefit of the decision. a financial burden of a whopping Rs 1,821 crore on the state ex- chequer. Addressing a press conference, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ni- tin Patel said the D.A. benefit will be extended to employees with retrospective effect from July 2019. The government will disburse the allowance in three instal- ments. The arrears from July Gandhinagar: In a New Year largesse, a compassionate Rupani Government on the first day of the calendar year announced a five per cent Dearness Allowance to over 9.5 lakh employees, including pensioners, on the lines of the Centre’s policy . The decision, which was taken in the Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, would incur Vijay lio, said the State Gov- ernment has decided to add five medical colleges in the state and increase hospital beds in five district civil hospitals. In another major decision, the Rupani Cabinet decided to increase medical seats and beds in government-run hospitals. Nitin Patel, who also has the health portfo- In another major decision, the Rupani Cabinet decided to increase medical seats and beds in government-run hospitals. Turn on P5

TALKING POINT 02 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia JO BOLE SO NIHAAL SAT SRI AKAL G sary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji Maharaj, the 10th guru of the Sikhs. He was born in Patna and through the way he led his life, emerged as a great inspiration for people. He unflinch- ingly supported social equality and against tyrannies and It was he who introduced the five ‘K’s that the Sikhs abide by: z Kesh: uncut hair z Kangha: a wooden comb z Kara: an iron or steel bracelet worn on the wrist z Kirpan: a sword z Kacchera: short breeches Guru Gobind Singh was also a poet and Large processions are organised and they sing devotional songs as well as share food with adults and children. Then they all halt at gurudwaras, their places of worship. It is here that they offer prayers. Food plays a major role in the celebrations and the celebrations are incom- plete without it. disparities. According to the Gregorian calendar, Guru Gobind Sin- gh’s Jayanti falls in De- cember or January every year. But the annual celebrations of the Guru’s birth anniversary take place as per the Nanakshahi calendar. This year, it falls on January 2. On this day, devotees gather and offer their prayers for blessings. uru Singh Jayanti marks birth anniver- Gobind the writer. He declared the Holy Scriptures of Guru Granth Sahib as the permanent guru of the Sikhs. It is believed that the Guru in 1699 baptised five men from ‘lower caste’ as his ‘Five Beloveds’. He passed away in 1708. special stood Punjab Governor calls upon people to rededicate themselves Sikh devotees participate in a ‘Nagar Kirtan’ – religious procession – organised to mark the birth anniversary of 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, in Patna yesterday. Chandigarh: Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore in a message on Wednesday called upon the people to rededicate themselves to the ideals and goals set out by Guru Gobind Singh. “Punjab VP Singh Badnore in a message on the Gur- purb of Guru Gobind Singh called upon the people to rededicate themselves to the ideals and goals set out by the great Guru and work for creating a harmoni- ous society, based on values of humanism and secularism,” said an official statement. According to the statement, the Governor said that Guru Gobind Singh, a saint-soldier, symbolised the vir- tues righteousness and universal brotherhood. Governor CELEBRATING GURU GOBIND JAYANTI CM Amarinder greets people on Guru Gobind Jayanti G and even those who don’t identify as Sikh but believe in Guru Gobind Singh’s teachings. People celebrating this day go to a Gurud- wara, the Sikh house of worship, where special prayer meetings are organised for the day. Often there are talks on history- Guru Gobind Singh’s life, teachings and impact, special lec- tures on his teachings and poetry recitals- for the Guru was great poet as well. There are special dishes prepared to be enjoyed for this day. In some places it is common for uru Gobind Singh Jayanti is celebrated by Sikhs large processions to spread the cheer by going through markets or colonies on Guru Gobind Singh Jay- anti singing devotional songs during the public march and distribut- ing sweets and cold drinks (like sharbat) among the adults and children regardless of their religion. Some of these processions are organised by Gurud- waras and the procession includes the Guru Granth Sahib being escorted on a special pedestal. Meanwhile, Ra- jasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra congratulated and greeted the people of the state on the occasion of Guru Gobind Singh Jay- anti. He said that “The message of humanity given by Guru Gobind Singh is relevant even today to promote the spirit of equality and brotherhood in our society.” ligious freedom, for w h i c h he sacri- ficed everything including his own family. even in the contempo- rary national and international scenario, Singh called upon the people to imbue the ide- ology, which emerged as a unifying force binding the entire country in an unbreak- able social fabric,” the statement said. The Chief Minister also reminded people about the unparalleled contribution of the Guru to uphold secularism, safeguard- ing human rights and ensuring re- Punjab: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Ama- rinder Singh Wednesday extended his greetings to people around the globe on the occasion of Guru Gob- ind Singh Jayanti. In a statement, Singh said that the Sikh community will always re- member Guru Gobind Singh for creating the Khalsa Panth at Sri Anandpur Sahib in 1699, thus promoting the undying spirit of well-being amongst the community. Pakistan to close Kartarpur’s gurdwara for non-Sikhs Lahore: The historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur - the final resting place of Sikh faith’s founder Guru Nanak Dev - will be closed for local non- Sikh visitors for three days from Friday in connection with the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh. “The govt has decided to close Kartarpur Sa- hib for three days from January 3 to 5 for non- Sikh visitors to exclu- sively hold a Sikh event - celebration of birth anniversary of Guru Gob- ind Singh at the Kartar- pur Complex Narowal,” on of truth, had “Observing Guru Gobind Singh’s universal message of peace, humanity, love, and brotherhood continued to be relevant that Source: Agencies Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETBP) spokes- person Amir Hashmi told. Hashmi said the government decided to close the Kartarpur Sa- hib for non-Sikh Paki- stanis to let the Sikhs of Pakistan and India celebrate their birthday together at the historic Kartarpur complex. “The main event of the 10th Guru of Sikh religion Gobind Singh’s birth anniversary will be held at Kartarpur on January 5,” the official said, adding that strict security measures have been taken to avert any untoward incident. Guru’s Sikh devotees perform martial arts Gatka during Nagar Kirtan procession near Harmandir Sahib ahead of the birth anniversary of the tenth Sikh leader Guru Gobind Singh, in Amritsar on Wedneday.

AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 l Pages 14 l 3.00 RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 39 HOW WORLD WELCOMED NEW YEAR Midnight fireworks explode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge during New Years eve celebrations in Sydney. —PHOTO BY PTI 4 IAF men chosen for Gaganyaan mission Rs 250-crore Chandrayaan-3 launch in 2021: ISRO chief duction failure. “The velocity re- duction failure was due to internal rea- sons,” he said. Chandrayaan-2 mission was India’s first attempt to land on lunar surface. The ISRO had planned the land- ing on the South Pole of the lunar surface. However, the lander Vikram hard-landed. Sivan also congratulated the Chennai based techie who recently lo- cated the Vikram lander that hard-landed 250 crore.” On the launch pad to come up in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, Sivan said, “apart from the space port at Sathish Dhawan Space Centre in Sri- harikota, the land acquisition for a second one has been initiated in Tuticorin district.” As regards the choice of location, he said, “It was mainly to get ad- vantages of southward launch especially for SSLV (Small Satellite Launch Vehicle).” Observing that the pad, once set up would Infant with 70% burns in neonatal unit fire dies be used for launching SSLVs initially, he said it may be expand- ed for big ones in future. On future missions, he said, “25 missions have been planned for 2020.” “The missions that were planned in 2019 and could not be completed would be fin- ished by March this year,” he said. When asked what went wrong Vikram lander of Chan- drayaan-2, he said it was due to velocity re- He also said the launch of drayaan-3 may shift to next year. Work on both Chan- drayaan-3 and Gagan- yaan, the country’s maiden manned space mission, was going on simultaneously , he added. Noting that Chan- drayaan-2 orbiter’s mission life was seven years, he said it would be used for the third lunar mission as well. Giving an estimate of the project cost for Chandrayaan-3, Sivan said, “it would cost Rs Chan- Bengaluru: ISRO on Wednesday announced that the launch of country’s third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3 may hap- pen next year and said four from the Indian Air Force have been selected for the ambitious Gaga- nyaan programme, whose astronaut training would commence soon in Russia. The announcement comes a day after Un- ion Minister Jitendra Singh said India will launch drayaan-3 in 2020. Addressing a press conference ISRO chairman K Si- van said work related to the third lunar mission was going on smoothly. It will have a lander, rover and a propul- sion module like its predecessor, he noted. Chan- here, with ISRO chairman K Sivan addressing a press conference in Bengaluru on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY PTI Turn on P5 CDS RAWAT TAKES CHARGE I am delighted that as we begin the new year and new decade, India gets its first Chief of Defence Staff in General Bipin Rawat. I congratulate him and wish him the very best for this responsibility. He is an outstanding officer who has served India with great zeal —Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Modi Jaipur: A newborn girl, who was critically in- jured when a fire broke out in the neonatal care unit of a hospital in Ra- jasthan’s Alwar Tuesday, succumbed to burn injuries, an official said on Wednesday . The baby girl was admitted with 70 per cent burn injuries at a Jaipur hospital and was on ventilator support. There were 15 in- fants admitted to the neonatal care unit of the Geetanand Hospi- tal in Alwar when the fire broke out in an oxygen pipeline connected to a radiant warmer around 5 am on ARMY CHIEF FOR SOLUTION ON CHINA BORDER ISSUE New Delhi: New Army chief General MM Naravane said today that the armed forces were focusing on “capability development” in connection with the border with China and expressed hope that maintaining peace and tranquillity there will help arrive at an “eventual solution”. “The girl has died today,” J K Lon hospital superintendent Ashok Gupta said. Meanwhile, a three- member committee, headed by the health department’s joint director, on Tuesday. The girl, who was being treated for pneumo- nia, had burn injuries on her face, chest and shoulder, while others kids were shifted to other units, an official had said. The army chief, who took over from General Bipin Rawat yesterday , has taken a tough line on Pakistan Turn on P5 Chief of the Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat inspecting the Tri-Service Guard of Honour, in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI Turn on P5 Gujarat govt to create 34K jobs this year, says CM Rupani Darshan Desai ing over 5,500 job fairs across the state. “We want the youth to be job-givers instead of just job-seekers. Efforts are also being made to ensure that students get jobs as they pass out from universities. I want to tell you that Gu- jarat’s unemployment rate is lowest in the entire country .” A related State In- formation ment press release said that thanks to Rupani government’s policies, Gujarat accounts for a whopping 43 per cent of the funded start-ups BREAKING: Vadodara police has decided to recover damages from the CAA protesters, in order to avoid damage to public property in future. TOP FDI DESTINATION Gujarat received Rs 24,012-crore Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in industries during the fi rst half of FY 2019-20, double of Rs.12,612-crore FDI received during the entire previous FY 2018-19, the State Government said, citing numbers released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The state thus emerged as the best destination in the country having received the maximum Rs.1.41-lakh crore FDI from April 2000 to September 2019. Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday nounced that as many as 34,000 new government jobs would be created during 2020 filling as many vacan- cies, which is in con- tinuation of his policies for all departments. In a New Year video message through his Facebook account, Rupani said, “In the last three years, we have given government jobs to 1.18 lakh youths. In an- the current year, we will conduct recruit- ments to fill up another 34,000 to 35,000 government posts,” he said. He said his government would ensure em- ployment to over 12 lakh youth in the private sector by conduct- Depart- 2019, counts for 1,500 registered start-ups and 222 funded start-ups. Most start-ups have been launched by the youth. Gujarat ac- operating in India in 2018-19. Quoting a NASSCOM study, the press release said out of nearly 9,000 start- ups set up in the country between 2014 and to youth Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Turn on P5

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 04 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia In-charge VC’s ‘alcohol chalisa’ on social media gets him in trouble First India News cellor Anilkumar Nayak has written a poem in praise of alcohol. This would not have been a problem if he had not put it up on social media. When First India tried to reach him for his comment, his office told us that he is on leave. When we tried his mobile phone, it was switched off. A person close to the in-charge VC said that this is a very old poem and that he had posted it in 2013. While the post Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University’s in-charge vice chancellor Anilkumar Nayak and (right) his poem. state government order the in-charge vice chancellor to resign from the post immediately . He told media, “The North Gujarat Universi- ty is named for a Jain scholar and monk Hem- chandracharya. In such a university , we have an In-charge VC, who is praising alcohol despite it being banned in the state. This will send wrong signals to students. So, he should first publicly apologise for posting such poem.” does have a December 31, 2013 timestamp, the fact that the poem appears on a page with the university’s logo as Nayak’s profile picture seems to have garnered him un- wanted attention. The post, which was circu- lated widely on New Year’s Eve, has drawn a lot of flak, with detractors even demanding Nayak’s resignation. Patan Congress MLA Kirit Patel has strongly condemned the post and has demanded that the Patan: An in-charge vice chancellor’s creativity has got him into trouble after a poem he wrote in praise of alcohol did the rounds on social media on Wednesday . His poem is in conflict with the state government’s pro- hibition policy and he has forgotten that he is heading an educational institute, detractors say . Hemchandracharya North Gujarat Universi- ty’s in-charge vice chan- On New Year’s eve, 400 held for drinking, possessing liquor 368 people were arrested for consumption, while 41 were held for possessing liquor First India News Woman abducted in Modasa for refusing engagement, freed First India News COPS SILENT Ahmedabad: 22-year-old woman was allegedly kidnapped in Modasa by three individuals for refusing to get engaged to one of them, the police said. How- ever, she was soon rescued after her friend identified one of the accused and informed the police. The woman, who is a resident of Meghraj’s Motagara area, was walking on Modasa College Road around 7.30pm with her friend on Tuesday when she was forcibly dragged into a car by Ranjit Punjara and two accomplices. According to wit- nesses, Punjara and his accomplices allegedly had said something to the woman before drag- ging her into the car. Her friend then raised the alarm and immediately called for help. In fact, attempt two men on a scooter and a pas- ser-by also made val- iant attempts to chase A college KEEPING IT LEGAL More Ahmedabad: than 400 people in the city were arrested for consuming or possessing alcohol on New Year’s Eve, police officials said on Wednes- day . In Ahmedabad rural police also raided at two places and seized IMFL worth Rs25,400. While no untoward incident was reported from any area, several people were caught drinking or possessing liquor during the New Year revelry, especially in Sardarnagar, Bapu- nagar and Meghanina- gar area, Deputy Com- missioner of Police (Control) Vijay Patel said. “As many as 368 people were arrested for consumption of liquor, while 41 others were held for possessing liquor,” he said. “No untoward incident was reported from any part of the city and the celebra- addition, down the car. But the three men evaded them and escaped with the woman. Her friend filed a complaint with the Modasa police, who be- gan an investigation, and later arrested Pun- jara. The entire epi- sode was caught on CCTV cameras set up in the area. The police combed through the footage and have arrested Punjara. One of his accomplices has been identified as Ajay Motilal, who is ab- sconding. —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI Policemen checking alcohol level of drivers on New Year eve, in Ahmedabad. Gujarat is a ‘dry’ state where manufac- ture, sale and consumption of liquor are banned. Hundreds of revellers thronged the Sa- barmati Vastrapur and Kankar- ia lakes, and there was a huge rush at hotels. social media to stop rave parties from being organized and had deployed 300 breathalys- ers to identify tipplers. Random breathalyser tests were also conducted on people to check if they had been drinking, especially while driv- ing, Patel also said. Quick Response Teams (QRT), 85 PCR (police control room) vans and hundreds of uniformed and plain-clothes police personnel, women, had been deployed in the run-up to New Year’s Eve. Moreover, the authorities were also tracking tions went off peace- fully,” he added. Security was stepped- up at various places in Ahmedabad in view of the late-night parties and celebrations, and the city police kept a watch on revellers, the official said. Over 1,000 CCTV cameras, including Riverfront, 10 3-day Textile & Machinery expo from tomorrow City police rescue nine child labourers from a godown First India News ers. This expo will strengthen the city’s financial stability .” SEA president Sand- eep Duggal said, “We have been working with the state and Central governments to provide better solutions for problems of small and medium businesses. This will be the first time when such a hefty number of machinery will be ex- hibited. cently, a delegation from SGCCI met PM and talked about creating a manufacturing hub and also asked him to promote foreign investment for it.” Furthermore, said, “This expo is being organized by the combined efforts of SGCCI and Surat Em- broidery Association. A huge response has been showed from textile machinery’s manufactur- lection of digital printing ink, non-woven, circular knitting, sewing laser and other ma- chines. The exhibition will also include machinery parts and ac- cessories used in the sector. President of SGCCI Ketan Desai said, “All of south Gujarat has been identified as a hub for textile and dia- monds, especially for the MSME sectors. Su- Surat: The three-day Surat International Textile and Machinery Expo will begin Friday . Organized jointly by the South Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) and Surat Embroidery Association (SEA), the expo will contain all things related to the textile industry . There will be a national-level col- he Gujarat textile First India News officer added if these children’s family members are found again pushing these children into labour work, police will file cases against these parents and relatives for child exploita- tion. Police said a local NGO had received a tip about the child labourers working at the Jyoti Job work in JK Estate. After verifying the information, formed Narol police. “During search found that nine children were doing sewing work there. All these children are from Bi- har, but are living ei- ther in Narol or Vatva,” an official said. The agent was paying these children a salary . rat is heading towards becoming a hub for manufacturing textile machinery as well. Re- Ahmedabad: dabad police on Wednes- day has rescued nine child labourers from a godown in Narol indus- trial area. Narol police has registered a case under the Child Protec- tion Act. Narol Police Inspec- tor SI Gohil told the media that all nine children rescued are teen- agers and were brought from Bihar. According to the police, these children were forced into labour work by their relatives. At present, the case is registered only against the agent Mohan Gavandar, as he had hired them for two to three months. At the same time, the Ahme- GUP SHUP IS MOS GETTING A PROMOTION? A has cleared around 100 to 150 fi les this weekend, prompting murmurs in the Swarnim Sankul that the minister might have received word of an upcoming promotion for a more important portfolio. Why else would he clear all pending on a weekend? Rumour has it that the minister was getting tired of having to deal with social obligations for many of the people in his department who belonged to the same community as him. KEMON ACHO, AMITBHAI? I sources are to believed, then the answer is yes! BJP’s stalwart is said to be learning the language to better infl uence voters. If that’s the case, Shah has 16 months to complete his crash course. If he can make it, we might just see a Gujarati going up against a Bengali on her home turf and in her mother tongue ahead of the next general election. Also, given how BJP cadre follows its leaders, don’t be surprised if you hear about more politicians picking up other regional languages as well. AMC’S VERY OWN MR BEAN O Municipal Corporation (AMC) would be serious and busy places. However, even administrative staff need to have some fun. Like us, they too seem to like some gossip and have given each other nicknames so the subject of their goss remains clueless. One of these is a senior IAS offi cer who’s earned the nickname of Mr Bean. Except that, unlike the beloved fi lm character, the AMC’s Mr Bean isn’t even funny. He does make funny faces though. Minister of State holding a very important portfolio s Amit Shah learning Bengali just to defeat Mamata Banerjee? If ne would think that the offi ces of the Ahmedabad they in- BUGGED? Or is it the grapevine... . First India begins a column that brings to you gossips or tete-e-tete from the corridors of power we

GUJARAT AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 05 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia ACB to map out family tree of accused GLDC asst director 26 cases were registered against Premal, while his wife and son were also booked IIMA, AU professors challenge continued imposition of Sec 144 First India News Ahmedabad: Five peti- tioners Ahmedabad, compris- ing Indian Institute of M a n a g e m e n t Ahmedabad professors Navdeep Mathur and Ankur Sarin, nesspersons Shah and Shah and Ahmedabad University Raghvan Rangarajan, last week filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court challenging the continuous issuance of orders under section 144 of the Criminal Pro- cedure Code (CrPC) and section 37 of the Guja- rat Police Act. They sought to quash two orders issued on De- cember 13 and Decem- ber 10. Hearing on the case is scheduled for January 9. As per the petition, Mathur was detained on December 16 from outside IIMA campus, while Rangara- jan, Sanjiv Shah and from Vipul Rajput Last month, JM Bhar- wad, former deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Jetpur division of Rajkot, was suspend- ed after junior consta- ble, Vishal Sonara, was caught red-handed for allegedly accepting a bribe on Bharwad’s behalf in a trap laid by the Anti-Corruption reau. Bharwad allegedly demanded Rs10 lakh to not beat up a suspect. The Anti-Corruption Bureau last week also arrested an inspector with Junagadh ACB, DD Chavda, who was nabbed for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs18 lakh. The accused officer was investigating an alleged fraud more than Rs10 lakh in a grant connected to pasture land in Juna- gadh. al owned 32 movable and immovable proper- ties such as luxury cars, flats, restaurants, agri- cultural lands and plots. ACB state director Keshav Kumar said, “It is often seen that cor- rupt government officials or employees invest all their black earn- ings in bank accounts of family members. In the case of Premal, we prepared his family tree to look for signs of embezzlement. BADA (benami assets and disproportionate assets) team, as well as chartered accountants, have been looking into the matter.” Premal had disproportionate assets that were worth 201.62% more than his actual in- come. Moreover, Pre- mal and his relatives had Rs45.75 lakh trans- Ahmedabad: seizing disproportionate assets worth Rs10.54 crore belonging to the Gujarat Land Develop- ment Corporation Lim- ited (GLDC) assistant director Pravin Premal, the state unit of the An- ti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has now started investigating the family members of the accused. As many as 26 cases were registered against Premal, while his wife and son were also booked for allegedly si- phoning money in the case. The ACB termed it the biggest disproportionate assets case in- volving a government official. Following a probe by the Anti-Cor- ruption Bureau, it was found the PremPravin After busi- Sanjiv Archana divisional magistrate or any other executive magistrate, empowered by the state government in this behalf. It further said, “It is submitted that the orders are passed by Po- lice Commissioner and therefore the same are without authority and jurisdiction.” The petition mentioned where the Ahmedabad police have been renew- ing these prohibitory orders continuously since April 2016, making every public gathering of five or more people in the city illegal since then. Archana Shah were detained on December 19 for demonstration. Since last month, In- dia has been hit by protests after the government passed legislation to simplify the process for non-Muslim minori- ties from the neighbour- ing Muslim-majority countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Af- ghanistan to gain citizenship in India. The professors’ petition states that the orders are issued without jurisdiction as under Section 144 of CrPC, and the power to issue such orders lies with the district magistrate, a sub- professor specially Bu- Our also trend a of ferred to their bank accounts after the an- AMC finds 35% schoolkids ill in yearly survey nouncement of demon- etisation in 2016. HC notice to govt, Real Estate Appellate body First India News six ashram schools, one Kasturba school and five orphanages, 15 special schools, 27 madra- sas and also children who are not enrolled in any school or other in- stitutions by the end of January . So far, the health teams of the civic body have screened 5.87 lakh children out of their target of 12.5 lakh. treatment on the spot,” said Dr Bhavin Solanki, medical officer health, AMC. The civic body has deployed 170 teams of medical experts and paramedical staff for the survey . The health department is aiming to cover 2,860 anganwadis, 505 government 2,023 private schools, Karyakram during De- cember and January for children aged between 0 and 18 years. “In this health survey, we treat students for all types of illnesses and diseases. There is also assistance for surgeries in hospitals. In December cold, cough and viral fever are common, many of the students are given First India News Gujarat Real Estate Ap- pellate Tribunal. A division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice AJ Shastri issued notice to the tribunal and state government. The PIL declared that the tribunal con- sists of only one judi- cial member and no technical or administrative member. of After Ahmedabad: screening around five lakh school-going children in one month, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has found that 35% of them are ill. Every year, the civic body conducts a School Health gramme under Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Ahmedabad: HC has issued notice to the Gu- jarat government and the Gujarat Real Estate Appellate Authority re- garding a Public Inter- est Litigation seeking the appointment of an administrative member or a technical member at the annual (PIL) Pro- the schools, FROM JECKET AND PG 1 Rupani announces... said during the Con- gress rule (before 1995) there was a “ban” on recruitment. It was the BJP government which opened the doors for youths. Referring to the paper leak and can- cellation of exam for non-secretariat clerks in the state recently, Rupani said the exam would be conducted soon and in a “fool- proof manner”. “We are committed to conduct the exam with greater transpar- ency. After receiving complaints from youth, we cancelled the exam after proper inquiry. Even the police arrested all the accused involved in it (paper leak). Now, we will conduct the exam in a fool- proof manner,” said. was the space agency’s policy not to release picture of the crashed module. Elaborating on the country’s manned space mission, Gaganyaan, the ISRO chief said, four astronauts have been identified for the mission and their training will start from third week of this month in Russia. He also mentioned that all the four astronauts chosen for the programme were men from the Indian Air Force. “We had good progress in 2019 as regards Gaganyaan. And many of the designs were completed and astronauts’ selection process is over. Now, four astronauts identified for training purpose.. that process is also completed,” Sivan said. girl is very painful. The action against those responsible will be taken today,” the minister said. the Line of Control, the “northern front also requires equal amount of attention”. “It is in that context that we are now going in for capability development even in the northern borders, which includes the north-east parts of our country,” said the General, who earlier headed the East- ern Command, which guards the 4,000-kilometre border with China. It has approved open medical colleges at Godhra, Veraval, Jam Khambhaliya, Botad, and Morbi. The minister said the bed capaci- ty of the civil hospitals in Godhra, Khambhali- ya, Botad, Morbi and Veraval each will be increased to 300 to meet the medical college cri- teria. These colleges will be set up at an investment of Rs 2,600 crore, under the Cen- tral Government scheme, wherein the Centre would chip in 60 per cent and the rest would be borne by the State Govern- ment. He said the proposal has been sent to the central government for approval, where it will be cleared on the merit basis. At present, there are 5,500 medical seats, including state-run grant-in-aid medical colleges and self-financed medical colleges. Out of 33 districts in the state, 28 districts have in all 37 medical colleges. If these five medical colleges get approval, the number of medical seats will touch 6,000. In the first year, 100 students will get admis- sion in these five colleges. The State Gov- ernment plans to invest Rs 325 crore per medical college and upgra- dation of hospitals. maiden Army Chief... and the terror it spon- sors, saying in such a situation, India “re- serves the right to pre-emptively strike at the sources of terror”. But he said while a lot of attention is being given to the “western front” - which includes nearly he Infant with... found negligence on part of the unit in- charge and nursing incharge of the hospital. “Sparking occurred in the panel of radiant warmer due to high voltage. It led to fire in the hood of oxygen pipe,” Alwar Chief Medical and Health Of- ficer O P Meena said. “The panel was not properly maintained and the unit incharge and nursing incharge are responsible for that.” State Health Minis- ter Raghu Sharma said action against the officials responsible would be taken. “The death of the Gujarat govt... He asked younger gen- eration to have faith in his government and slammed the Congress over “creating confusion among the people” over the issue of unemployment and trans- parency, gains”. “A lot of confusion has been created since sometime youths and students by some people for political gains. I want to tell you that my government will ensure that the hard work of youths does not go in vain,” Rupani said in the video message. The Chief Minister those in “political among 4 IAF... and maintained that it

PERSPECTIVE PLAY IT RIGHT Once we take everything into consideration and make a mindful choice on the card that has to be played next, then there is no point worrying 06 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia IN-DEPTH KERALA HEADS FOR CONFRONTATION WITH CENTRE W ith the central government ex- tending a veiled threat to Kerala directing it to implement the new citizenship act or it will ex- ercise its Constitutional options, both appear heading for first-ever serious crisis in the country’s independent history after an opposition-ruled southern state assembly passed a resolution against enact- ing federal law. Following the passage of CAA in Parlia- ment and proposed National Citizens Reg- ister, the situation seems to have come to such where there is no meeting ground left because the centre has turned down the offer of an all-party meeting on the contentious issues whereas as CPI (M) led Kerala assembly has passed a resolution that not only brings it in direct confrontation with the centre but also all set to create a serious political and Constitutional crisis. Under Indian Constitution, the states are mandatory to implement any law that parliament passes and if any of the states refuse to oblige, the centre has the option to take the Constitutional route i.e. prom- ulgation of President rule in that particular state. Imagine the scale of the crisis in case all opposition-ruled states follow Kerala’s path, the country will plunge into because domains of parliament and legis- lative assemblies, executive and judiciary are independent and well defined under the Constitution. Technically, Kerala has defied the Consti- tution arguing that the law is against the basic character and Preamble of the India Constitution, the centre has gone one step ahead threatening the state that if it did not implement the new law, it knows how to use available Constitutional options. Such a conflict is bound to have its far-reaching implications on the centre-state relations, which were clearly described in the Sarka- ria Commission report. In a federal democratic system like India, Centre though has absolute powers in certain contexts, but by and large it is duty-bound to work in tan- dem with the states. Practically, centre cannot get any law implemented without the consent of states because providing logistics and other re- quirements are under the domain of the states. The law minister says the states constitutionally cannot deny implement- ing a law like CAA, which is passed by parliament and “perfectly legal”. None of the Constitutional experts have questioned the legality of the new law, but their point of contention is the intention behind the enactment, as it delinks a particular community from the other which is in contra- vention to the Preamble of the Indian Con- stitution that describes India as a sover- eign, socialist, secular, democratic repub- lic. Before we reach to point of no return still there is time left for saving federal democracy. I is about where we choose to put our attention. If we conscious- ly try to allocate our attention to finding solutions rather than dwelling on problems; if we make a mindful effort to do our best given the circumstances and then leave the rest to him who knows better; and if we keep attempting to focus on the positive no matter what may be going on in life, we will find that it is easier for us to cope. Nevertheless, there will be many times when difficult circumstances will draw our attention forcibly in their direction, making us feel disillusioned, debilitated and perhaps powerless to make the necessary choices. We have been emphatically reassured over and over again that our worldly and spiritual lives will be taken care of, pro- vided we are sincere in our meditation; that is, sincere in our intention, our preparation and our execution of it. If we keep our part of the bargain every day, come what may, our Master will help us make the necessary decisions. If we do our meditation, we will know and feel that we are not playing the game of life alone; that the Master-player is on our side, cheering us on, supporting us and doing everything in his power to make sure we end up playing it right! RADHA SOAMI SATSANG BEAS getting anywhere, it would be a smarter choice to try and focus on a course of action that would help solve these problems. We have to be careful though, because once we have thought about what we need to do in order to solve a problem, what tends to set in next is worry about the possible outcome of our actions. Once we take everything into consideration and make a mindful choice on the card that has to be played next, then there is no point worrying. It is understandable to be afraid of some of the possible results, but what is unwise is repeat- edly going through them in our head and consequently multi- plying our grief. We can only try our best; other than that there is nothing else we can do. Once the batter is mixed as per the recipe, there is nothing else that needs to be added to it to obtain a sponge cake – it just has to be put into the oven. Yes, we can pray for it to turn out the way we would like, but even this is not necessary. Our Master will give us that which is best for us; he always does. We should know that there is always some good in whatever he deems fit for us – it is just a matter of focusing on the donut and not on the hole. After the 17th-century scholar, Matthew Henry was n the game of life, destiny deals us a set of cards – circumstances that we have no choice but to work with. Nevertheless, we are told that it is up to us how we play the game. We could have a great hand and lose, or we could have a lousy hand, play it right, and still win. In order to attempt to play it right though, we must start by accepting what comes our way as being the result of our own past actions. When faced with difficult situations, we can curse destiny, we can cry and rebel, or we can accept the con- sequences of our own actions, take responsibility, and try to pick up the pieces. It would be one thing if we could simply fold and cut our losses. But when there is no such choice in life, if we have to play the game whether we like it or not, then why not play it right? One of the most effective ways to help us improve our game is to focus on solutions and not simply on the problem. After all, how many times have we been able to clear a traffic jam by swearing our way through it? How many times have we settled our bills by complaining about how expensive things have become? Or how many times have we allevi- ated pain by moaning and groaning? Rather than spending our time and energy complaining about things and not We should know that there is always some good in whatever he deems fit for us – it is just a matter of focusing on the donut and not on the hole There will be many times when difficult circumstances will draw our attention forcibly in their direction, making us feel disillusioned, debilitated and perhaps powerless to make the necessary choices accosted by thieves and robbed of his purse, he wrote this in his diary: Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourthly, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed. As quoted in Eve- ry Day Deserves a Chance Life Our personal styles of information gathering T ations, felt in 3D space, because the body’s physical and emotional resonances can coherently accumu- late extended signals from other people. Listeners go more by “feel” than rules. My wife is a classic lis- tener, from a family of sto- rytellers who value listening. Her nervous system has always been finely tuned and sensitive, so she could listen well and could anticipate people’s moods. Furthermore, when she was growing up, people who looked like her were supposed to keep their mouths shut; in her grade- school classrooms, even her excellent questions were punished. So she learned to pay close attention to other people, and not to interfere. fortunately, the pinging approach is so efficient that it becomes addictive. Once you become a pinger, in practical terms it’s hard to go back. For an inveterate pinger (like me), the longer I go without a ping to orient myself, the more uncertain and at sea I feel. It’s hard to wait long enough to gather the long-term data which might ultimately improve my skills. So even now, I’m still a pinger. Listening is mostly used when pings are expensive, as in crowded classrooms and interaction with higher-status people. Listening specializes in highly sensitive, long-duration data acquisition, both during calibration and during actual use — which are often the same thing. Listening best applies to social situ- you’re there. But not all submarines work that way. Some of them listen to their environment silently, emitting no energy and offering no clue of their existence (“silent running”). It’s slow work, and requires constant attention, but you’re much less likely to be attacked, since others may not notice you’re there. As strategic choices, listeners listen, and pingers ping, but only for the most part, because those two strategies are just opposite poles of the general strategy of pinging. Pinging means interfering with the world in order to learn about it. Pinging interferes a lot, listening only a little. Pinging is best for reori- entation, because it’s in- termittent —like turning on a room light briefly, to here are two kinds of people — and not just people. Rather, I should say, there are two kinds of sen- sory styles. This applies to animals, even to Roombas. Knowing those helps fix some common arguments. Think of senso- ry processing in general — the making sense of the world we do for a living — as something like the acoustic processing done by a submarine. Subma- rines “ping.” Everybody knows about those sudden burst of sculpted sound — PINNGGGgggg… — a submarine emits in order to listen for echoes. Echo-location works like a strobe light: Send out a burst of energy, wait for the return signal. Provide your own illumination, with the world, let it know styles listening remind yourself how far away the door is, or rock- ing a dial or a physical object back and forth, to locate the “edges” of its balance to infer where the middle is. Pinging is algo- rithmically efficient; one burst can illuminate a lot, and dividing the task of sensing into separate out- put and input phases sim- plifies computation. Un- Listening is mostly used when pings are expensive, as in crowded classrooms and interaction with higher- status people TOP TWEET Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp On the occasion of New Year prayed and sought blessings of Lord Shiva at the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar. Prayed for the wellbeing, prosperity and progress of the people of India and Odisha. interfere FOR FULL REPORT LOG ON TO WWW.FAIROBSERVER.COM G Vol 1 G Issue No. 39 GRNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Planet Survey No.148P, Changodar-Bavla Highway, Tal. Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad. Published at D/302 3rd Floor Plot No. 35 Titanium Square, Scheme No. 2, Thaltej Taluka, Ghatlodiya, Ahmedabad. Editor: Jagdeesh Chandra, Resident Editor : Darshan Desai, Managing Editor: Robin Roy, responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

INDIA AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 07 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia ‘MOMENTOUS AND HISTORIC DAY FOR INDIA’ Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated Gen Bipin Rawat for taking charge as India’s first CDS, hailing PM Modi for fulfilling a long-pending demand NEW ARMY CHIEF VISITS NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL New Delhi: After Gen- eral Bipin Rawat took charge as India's first Chief of Defence Staff, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednes- day said it is a "momentous and historic day" for the country as Prime Minister Modi fulfilled yet another long-pending demand of appointing the CDS. "A momentous and historic day for India as PM Narendra Modi ful- fills yet another long- pending demand and India gets its First Chief of Defence Staff. I am confident that this decision will further strengthen India's re- solve to be among the best defence forces in the world," Shah said in a series of tweets. Ex- tending congratulation to Rawat, Shah said that under the new CDS' leadership all the three forces will collectively work as a team "I am sure under his leadership all the three forces will collectively work as a team and leave no stone unturned in securing our nation against all odds," he said. The Union Minis- ter added that the CDS will also fulfill the aspirations of New India. "The Chief of De- fence Staff will not only further Modi government's efforts towards ensuring welfare of personnel of all the three wings of Indian Armed Forces, modern- ise our military and ful- fil aspirations of a New India," he said. Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi also congratulated the former Army chief for taking over as the first CDS. A the Indian Army, Lieu- tenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane visited the National War Memorial here to pay tributes to martyrs. General Naravane sa- luted the 'Amar Jawan Jyoti', the eternal flame, and laid a wreath at the memorial. General took over as the 28th Chief of the Army Staff succeeding General Bi- pin Rawat. He was pre- viously the Vice Chief of Army Staff. He has taken over the reins of the Army amid prevail- ing tensions between India and Pakistan due to provocations by Is- lamabad. —ANI day charge as Chief of after taking Narendra Naravane Chief of the Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat along with Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria after ceremonial Guard of Honour in New Delhi on Wednesday. ‘CDS to bring in synergy, enhance integration among services’ —PHOTO BY ANI Creation of CDS a bold step: Air Chief India’s first CDS: Gen Rawat makes his debut tion and do better resource management. We have to achieve more synergy and integration. This is the motive," the CDS said. Further explaining details of the CDS' role, General Rawat said: "All the three services will work as a team. The CDS will control them but the work will be done through teamwork. The CDS will not be running any force as per its instructions." "We will see how we can integrate our systems so that services can work in a coordi- nated manner," he said. —ANI New Delhi: General Bi- pin Rawat made debut public appearance as India's first Chief of De- fence Staff (CDS) on Wednesday , donning the parent service uniform, though with a different Peak Cap and Shoulder Rank Badges in his new role. On his first day as CDS, General Rawat paid tribute at the Na- tional War Memorial in the heart of New Delhi near India Gate. He also received a guard of honour. Also present on the occasion were Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, Navy Chief Karambir Singh and Army Chief Manoj New Delhi: Chief of the Defence (CDS) will bring in synergy, enhance integration among the three services, and do better resource management, said Gener- al Bipin Rawat on Wednesday. General Rawat has been appointed as the first CDS of the country . Speaking to report- ers here, he said that the CDS office will work to enhance capa- bilities of the three forces while working as a team. "As per the task given to the chief of defence staff we have to enhance integra- New Delhi : Air Chief RKS Bhadauria Wednesday said the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was a "very big and bold step" and stressed that the onus was on three services of the Armed Forces to support it fully and make it successful. the Air Chief said, "The creation of CDS is a very big step and a very- very bold step. The onus is really on three services now to support it fully and to make it suc- ceed in its foundation stage and bring in the jointness, economise the effort, and really achieve eve- FLAG FOR CAR CDS MEETS DEFENCE MINISTER 'FAR FROM POLITICS’ Staff on Newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff or CDS Gen- eral Bipin Rawat called on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at South Block in Delhi on Wednesday. Singh extended his best wishes to Gen- eral Rawat for a successful tenure ahead. On Tuesday, General Rawat received the guard of honour from all the three forces after demitting offi ce. Mukund Naravane, who has succeeded General Rawat as the Chief of Army Staff. —ANI rything that is desired from this post well within the time-frame specified. —ANI synergy, ‘Increase in train fare New Year gift from central govt’ ‘Govt shall apply CAA across country without any pressure’ Ban Popular Front of India: UP govt requests Centre New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government has requested the Un- ion Ministry of Home Affairs to ban the Popu- lar Front of India (PFI), an organisation that is said to have played a key role in triggering violence during the recent anti-CAA protests in the state. A written communication made to the MHA a day after Pradesh DGP OP Singh sent a letter to the state home department seeking a ban on the PFI. Sources MHA has received the request letter and is likely to consult legal as CAA is the law of the center and only the Railways form a back- bone of transportation. "Instead, the govt should have gifted us the values of our Con- stitution by upholding it," said Siddaramiah in his tweet. Earlier, the Ministry of Railways had revised basic passenger fare which will be effective from January 1. The ministry said that the increased fare will help in modernisation of the Indian Railways. The railways said that no excess fare will be charged from passengers who have booked tickets before January 1. —ANI New Delhi: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international working president Alok Kumar on Wednesday asserted that the government shall implement the new Citizenship law across India without coming under pressure. "The opposition that is taking place against the CAA is being en- couraged by the political parties which have lost twice in the elections. CAA is the law of the center and only the center has a right to apply it. The government should apply this law all over the country with- Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Min- ister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Naren- dra Modi on the issue of fare hike announcement by Indian Rail- ways, stating that 'the increase in train fares was a new year gift from the Central government'. "Increase in Train fares is a New Year gift by @narendramodi government to common people," he tweeted. He further said in his tweet that the move will dent the developmental pros- pects of the country as Former center has a right to apply it. The government should apply this law all over the country without any pressure. MIXED REACTIONS well as other concerned departments before im- posing a ban on the organisation. The Ministry is also likely to take inputs from the intelligence and other central government agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA). —ANI —Alok Kumar, VHP international working president Uttar Both states have to implement this act. The VHP will support the Centre in this, we are with the people who had to flee their countries after facing religious persecution." out any pressure," said Kumar said. Being asked about the anti-CAA stand of Kerala and West Bengal government, he said: "Kerala and Bengal are not independent states. say that NEET 2020 REGISTRATION DATE EXTENDED TILL JANUARY 6 New Delhi: The last date for submission of application form of NEET (UG) - 2020 has been extended to January 6 (up to 11:50 PM), to help the candidates who were not able to apply online due to heavy rush on the web- site. This is being done following many requests that have been received by the Ministry of Human PUNJAB CM LAUDS IMPROVEMENT IN KEY SECTORS UNDER SDGs Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday lauded the marked improvement in several key sectors under the Sustainable Devel- opment Goals (SDGs) in the state, while calling for more aggressive efforts to boost performance in other areas. Niti Aayog’s SDG Index 2019-20 KEDARNATH DISASTER VICTIM REUNITED WITH FAMILY New Delhi: An elderly labourer who had gone missing in the 2013 Kedarnath natural disaster was reunited with his family. Jamil Ahmed Ansari belonged to Sitarganj and was working at Lam- bagad when the tragedy struck. He lost contact with his family due to partial memory loss. Ansari was reunited with his kin under Operation Smile. Ansari lived for six years at an old-age home. He contacted the authorities when he started regain- ing his memory. Police then found his family, his wife and two daughters, through social media. BJP OFFICE TO HAVE MAPS DEPICTING J&K, LADAKH STATUS New Delhi: With political map of India having changed after bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, old maps of the country are set to be replaced by the BJP at its headquar- ters. Sources said that with the government having released the maps of Union Territories of J&K, Ladakh and the map of India with these changes, the party would soon replace maps of India displayed in the rooms of its offi ce bearers. Once the process is completed at the party’s central offi ce, a similar move is also expected in all state BJP HQ. Resource Development. The date of correction of particulars in the online application form remains the same, i.e. from Janu- ary 15 to January 31 (up to 11.50 pm). Addition- ally, candidates from the Kashmir Valley, Leh and Kargil can submit the application form offl ine at the Nodal Centres fi xed by the NTA. report, based on 17 goals covering 100 indicators, showed that the state has done exceptionally well in areas like open-defecation free (ODF), internet sub- scribers, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and door to door waste collection, besides show- ing improvement in the average annual dropout rate at secondary level.

INDIA AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 08 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia Gross GST collections touch `1.03 lakh cr in Dec 2019 DRDO Chairman pays homage at National War Memorial POWERGallery ALOK VERMA TAKES OVER AS DIRECTOR (HR), HAL Alok Verma, GM (HR), HAL, has taken over the charge as Director (Human Resources), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). During the month, the IGST on import of goods saw a negative growth of 10 per cent but marked an improvement over minus 13 per cent in Novem- ber and minus 20 per cent in October. The government settled Rs 21,814 crore to CGST and Rs 15,366 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement. The total revenue earned by the Centre and state governments after regular settlement in December is Rs 41,776 crore for CGST and Rs 42,158 crore for the SGST. —ANI New Delhi: Gross revenue on account of Goods and Services Tax (GST) totalled Rs 1.03 lakh crore in December, up 16 per cent in the year-ago period, the government said on Wednesday . Of this amount, the Central GST was Rs 19,962 crore, State GST Rs 26,792 crore and Inte- grated GST Rs 48,099 crore (including 21,295 crore collected on imports) and cess Rs 8,331 crore (including Rs 847 crore collected on imports). The total number of GSTR 3B returns filed for the month of RAJIV AGARWAL GIVEN ADDL CHARGE OF GM, DLW VARANASI Rajiv Agarwal, General Manager, North Eastern Railway has been handed over additional charge of General Manager, Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi till a regular incumbent is appointed. He is an IRSEE offi cer. RS RAJPUT TRANSFERRED TO WR The transfer of RS Rajput as ADRM, Bhopal to Metro Railway has been canceled and is now transferred to Western Railway. He is an IRSE offi cer. The Government is looking into revenue shortfall being faced by states and suggests measures for increasing collections. Rs from imports, the total revenue during Decem- ber 2019, increased by 9 per cent in comparison to the revenue during December 2018. November up to Decem- ber 31 is Rs 81.21 lakh, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance. The IGST collected B C MOHIYAR SELECTED FOR DEPUTATION TO RCIL B Chandra Mohiyar presently on deputation to CRIS as Manager, HRMS has been selected for deputation to RCIL as JGM, HR (IT) in Secunderabad. He is an IRPS offi cer. New Delhi: Defence Re- search and Develop- ment Organisation Chairman G Satheesh Reddy on Wednesday paid homage to the fall- en soldiers at the Na- tional War Memorial in Delhi on the occasion of the 62nd DRDO day . Earlier in the day, De- fence Minister Rajnath Singh had extended his greetings on the occasion of DRDO Day and wished its personnel a successful year ahead. “On the 62nd DRDO Day, I extend my warm wishes and greetings to all @DRDO_India personnel and their fami- lies. The DRDO has made an immense contribution towards de- veloping cutting edge Defence Technologies 62ND DRDO DAY Priyanka chides govt as parents of 14-month-old jailed for protesting VK Yadav takes charge as R’way Board Chairman AIR MARSHAL MSG MENON JOINS AS AOA Air Marshal MSG Menon VSM has assumed charge as Air Offi cer-in-Charge ,Administra- tion (AOA) of Indian Air Force on Wednesday. New Delhi: Vinod Ku- mar Yadav on Wednes- day assumed charge as New Delhi: Hitting out at the Yogi Adityanath- led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyan- ka Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that a 14-month- child has been separated from her parents, who were jailed by the police for participating in an anti-citizenship law protest in Varanasi. “The BJP government has shown such inhu- manity to suppress the civil demonstrations that a small child has C h a i r - man Rail- w a Board, a day after he given an y DEPUTATION TENURE OF DR SHIVALLI M CHOUHAN EXTENDED The deputation tenure of Dr Shivalli M Chou- han working as Director in the Department of Expenditure has been extended for a period of three months with effect from January 4, 2020. He is a 1997 batch IDAS offi cer. was extension of an year by the ACC. According to Railway Ministry officials, Yadav assumed the charge as Chairman on Wednesday morning at the Rail Bhawan here. —Agencies and Systems. I wish the DRDO family a remark- able and successful year ahead,” Singh said in a tweet. were arrested by police in Varanasi for attend- ing a protest against the Citizenship ment) Act. —ANI India, Pakistan exchange lists of civilian prisoners been separated from the parents,” Gandhi tweeted in Hindi. The activist parents of Champak, the infant, AIR MARSHAL VIBHAS PANDE JOINS AS AOM Air Marshal Vibhas Pande, VSM has assumed charge as Air Offi cer-in-Charge Maintenance (AOM) of Indian Air Force today. (Amend- IIT-Kanpur panel to decide if Faiz’s poem is anti-Hindu After Ayodhya, UP BJP leader wants focus on Hastinapur ARUN KUMAR SHUKLA JOINS AS CMD, HINDUSTAN COPPER LIMITED Arun Kumar Shukla has taken over the charge as Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Copper Limited. He had joined the Company as Director (Operations) on October 1, 2018. CBI arrests DRI ADG Shekhar in Rs 25 lakh bribery case After Lucknow: Ram and Ramaya- na, the BJP seems to be turning its attention towards the Mahabharata. BJP Yeshwant has written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, questing him to re- store the lost glory of Hastinapur. In his letter, the MLC has said that in the past 72 years, no attention has been paid to Hasti- napur that was the country’’s capital at one point of time. He has further said that he has visited Hastinapur twice in recent months and has found the fort in Hastinapur to be in a dilapidated condition. —Agencies New Delhi: India and Pakistan on Wednesday exchanged details of civilian prisoners and fishermen lodged in each other’s jails. The Ministry of Ex- ternal Affairs (MEA) said India handed over to Pakistan lists of 267 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 99 fishermen in its custody . Pakistan has handed over a list of 282 Indian prisoners, 55 civilians and 227 lodged in the country’s jail to the High Commis- sion of India as part of a bilateral agreement. The lists were exchanged in keeping with the provisions of a 2008 agreement under which such lists of prisoners are shared on January 1 and July 1 every year. The Indian government called for an early release and repatriation GRANT VISAS MAJOR RESHUFFLE OF IAS OFFICERS IN UP Around two dozen IAS offi cers have been transferred and posted to different places in Uttar Pradesh. MLC Singh New Delhi: The CBI on Wednesday arrested an Additional General of DRI Chand- er Shekhar and a middleman in connection with Rs 25 lakh bribery case, officials said. The searches are going on in New Delhi, Noida and Ludhiana, they said. According to the DRI web site, Chan- der Shekhar is posted as ADG, Ludhiana. The agency had arrested the middleman while he was allegedly receiving the bribe on behalf of the officer, they said. During the questioning, the middleman told the sleuths that the bribe was allegedly for the officer, they said. —Agencies JCA MEETING THIS WEEK? The postponed JCA meeting is likely to held before the notifi cation of Delhi Assembly Elections.It is reportedly scheduled by 4-7, January. Director re- tory orders clamped in the city on the day of the march, whether they posted objectionable content on the social media and whether the Faiz poem is anti-Hindu. The poem reads thus -- “Lazim hai ke hum bhi dekhenge. Jab arz-e-Khu- da ke kaabe se. Sab bhut uthwaye jayenge, Hum ahl-e-safa harm. Masnad pe bithaye jayenge. Sab taaj uchale jaenge. Sab takht giraye jayenge. Bas naam rahe- ga Allah dekhenge.” —Agencies New Delhi: The IIT in Kanpur has set up a panel to decide whether the poem “Hum dekhenge, lazim hai ki hum bhi dekhenge”, penned by Faiz Ahmad Faiz, is anti-Hindu. The panel has been set up in response to complaints filed by a faculty member who claimed that the students, during a protest, sang this poem which was anti-Hindu. The panel will also probe whether the students violated prohibi- AIR COMMODORE TSS KRISHNAN ASSUMES CHARGE AS DDG (AP & TELANGANA) Air Commodore T S S Krishnan has assumed charge as Deputy Director General of NCC Directorate (AP & Telangana), Secun- derabad. of Indian civilian prisoners, missing Indian defence personnel and fishermen along with their boats from Paki- stan’s custody . In this context, Paki- stan was asked to expe- dite the release and repatriation of four Indi- an civilian prisoners and 126 Indian fishermen to India whose na- tionality has been con- firmed and conveyed to Pakistan, the MEA said. fishermen, MAJOR RESHUFFLE OF IPS OFFICERS IN BIHAR Around two dozen IPS offi cers have been transferred and posted to different places in Bihar. mardood-e- ka. Hum 4 IPS OFFICERS BECOME IG IN MP Four IPS offi cers of 2002 batch have been promoted to the grade of Inspector General in Madhya Pradesh. They are: Anil Kumar Sharma, B S Chauhan, Avinash Sharma and Manoj Sharma. VK YADAV RE-EMPLOYED AS CHAIRMAN, RAILWAY BOARD Vinod Kumar Yadav, who was bidden farewell in the evening of December 31, 2019 upon his retirement from his service, has been re-employed as Chairman Railway Board till December 31, 2020. VAISHNO DEVI TEMPLE WITNESS RUSH OF PILGRIMS ON NEW YEAR Katra: A heavy infl ux of pilgrims was seen at Vaishno Devi temple who thronged the hill shrine to seek blessings. On the occasion of New Year, a large number of people from across the country visited the temple. “Since the last 20 years, we have been coming here on New Year’s Eve. The number of devotees has been in- IN MAJOR REJIG, 22 IAS AND 28 PCS OFFICERS TRANSFERRED IN UP Lucknow: In major administrative rejig, 22 IAS and 28 PCS offi cers were transferred and posted to other departments by the govt in UP on Wednes- day. Following the govt order, Health and Family Welfare Dept secretary Pankaj Kumar has been appointed as the principal staff offi cer to the CS. IAS Aamod Kumar has DEVOTEES THRONG GOLDEN TEMPLE TO SEEK BLESSINGS Punjab: Thousands of devotees thronged the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Wednesday morning to seek holy blessings as they usher in the New Year. Devotees were seen taking holy dip on the fi rst day of the New Year. “We have come here to celebrate the New Year. We wanted to start our new year with the blessings of God. There is no better way to start the year. I wish for peace and prosperity in the country,” Divya, a devotee told ANI. “People from across the country have come here to celebrate the New Year.” creasing every year here. The facilities have made very convenient for us to come to the temple. The administration is doing a great job,” Sunil from Am- bala Cant, Haryana said. Devotees also said that they were at the shrine to seek blessings as it gives them peace of mind and hopes to enter the new year with great vigor. been promoted to the principal secretary of the Planning Dept from Revenue Council where he was a member. Monika Garg, principal secretary of Women Welfare Dept, has been put in waiting list. IAS offi cer Roshan Jacob has been promoted to the post of secretary and director of the Dept of Geology and Mining. JOSHI TO BE ADVISER IRRIGATION Outgoing Telengana chief secretary SK Joshi has been appointed adviser to irrigation department. He is 1984 batch IAS offi cer.

SPORTS AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 09 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia Fernando Alonso set to become first F1 champion to compete in Dakar Rally nFernando Alonso had won the F1 championship in 2005 and 2006 nAbout 20 F1 drivers have competed in the Dakar Rally nJacky Ickx became the first former F1 driver to win the cycle category, helping him navigate the route. The Spanish driver has the triple crown of motor racing within reach. In Saudi Arabia, a route covering nearly 8,000 kilometers with more than 5,000 km timed, awaits racers, who will start in Jeddah and finish n e a r Riyadh. despite being the best driver in rally history and having skills that fit the Dakar Rally better than Formula 1. Even though Loeb did not have to make huge adjustments, he still came up short in his bid to win the Da- kar, whose inaugural edition was held in 1979. Alonso, who has always driven alone, will have veteran Marc Coma, a five-time rally champ in the motor- rally world champion who competed in the Dakar Rally from 2016 to 2019, winning 13 stag- es but never finishing first overall. “If Loeb still hasn’t won the Dakar, imagine me, who is coming from asphalt. I think the goal is more to approach the rally as an enriching experience Alonso told RTVE last Friday before leaving for Saudi Arabia. The 45-year-old Loeb was unable to take home the bronze Touareg Trophy bia, as part of his quest to become a more complete & versatile driver. About 20 F1 drivers have competed in the Dakar Rally over the years, but Alonso is the first world champion to do so. Belgium’s Jacky Ickx became the first former F1 driver to win the Dakar Rally, finishing first in 1983 and second in 1986 and 1989. The expectations for Alonso are comparable to those raised by French driver Sebas- tien Loeb, a nine-time Big three aim to extend dominance in Australia Madrid: Spain’s Fer- nando Alonso is set to become the first Formu- la 1 champion to compete in the Dakar Rally, which starts on Sunday in Saudi Arabia. “The biggest challenge of my career,” the 38-year-old Alonso said, referring to the world’s most grueling race, re- ports media. Alonso, who won the F1 championship in 2005 and 2006, entered the Dakar Rally , whose 2020 leaves behind South America for Saudi Ara- Dakar Rally nDakar Rally starts on Jan 5 and ends on January 17 for us,” edition in ‘Dada & Dravid will take Indian cricket to new level’ nRahane singled out left-arm fast bowler Wagner as the bowler to watch out for nIn NZ, playing as close as possible to the body will be very important, opined Rahane BRIEF Hardik Pandya gets engaged New Delhi: Star India cricketer Hardik Pan- dya on Wednesday announced his engagement to Serbian actor Natasa Stankovic. The couple are spending their New Year’s day in Dubai. Hardik Pandya took to social media to post a photo of himself and Natasa Stankovic in which the actor can be seen wearing her engagement ring. Totally against 4-day Tests: Lyon Sydney: While the proposal for 4-day Test matches in World Test Championship cycle from 2023 has left the cricket fraternity divid- ed, Australia off-spin- ner Nathan Lyon has said he is “totally against” the idea. “I’m not a fan of four-day Test matches. I’m totally against it and I hope ICC aren’t even considering it”, said Lyon. precedented heights. “Dada and Rahul Bhai (as NCA head) together will create a roadmap that will sure- ly take Indian cricket to places.” In 2014, it was a young team that toured NZ and lost the Test series 0-1 but a lot has changed since then. “That time, it was a young unit touring NZ for the first time.” Preparation doesn’t start from practising the skills but it starts from the travel day . Get- ting over jet lag, getting accustomed weather, all things matter. So ‘ A’ tour helps in preparation.” He feels that new BCCI president Sourav Gan- guly and India A coach Rahul Dravid will take Indian cricket to un- New Delhi: Ajinkya Rahane doesn’t fuss over technical issues but India’s vice-captain feels that the breeze in Welling- ton and Christchurch needs to be factored in during the team’s upcoming two-Test series against New Zealand next month. Getting used to conditions will be the key,” he added. Shapovalov calls for merger of ATP Cup and Davis Cup Test nMurray & Wawrinka have dipped in occasionally, with 3 Grand Slam titles nRemarkably, Federer has won in Melbourne in two of the past three years Venus out of Brisbane International with injury V the upcoming Bris- bane International after suffering a ‘setback’ in training, the former world num- nTop 3 won 55 of past 66 titles dating back to when Federer won Wimbledon more things seem to change, the more they stay the same. In 2010, the top three seeds at Melbourne Park were Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. In 2020, only the order has changed, with Na- dal top of the pile, ahead of Djokovic and Federer.Their longev- ity is as much a rea- son for their success as their talent and work-rate. to the small Sydney: A new decade of tennis begins this month at the Austral- ian Open and change is in the air. There is new leadership behind the scenes and several new, exciting faces on the courts. But while the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thi- em, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov go into the new year with high hopes, in this era, at least, the Nadal becomes first player to rank No 1 in three separate decades ESPNCricinfo names Dhoni Capt New Delhi: Former In- dia skipper MS Dhoni was picked as captain of ESPNCricinfo’s ODI and Twenty20 teams of the decade, while Virat Kohli was named the leader in Tests. The cri- teria, set by the 23-member panel, for selection was a mini- mum of 50 Tests or six active years in the traditional format while it was 75 ODIs and 100 T20s for the limited- overs teams. ber one said on Wednesday . Williams, 39, was set to join world number one Ash Bar- ty, Karolina Pliskova and Naomi Osaka in a strong field at the Queensland Tennis Centre from Jan. 6-12 and the organizers said they would announce a wildcard to take her place in the draw. “Unfortunately, I won’t be starting my season in Brisbane due to an unexpected setback during my training,” Venus, a seven-times Grand Slam winner who was handed a wildcard for the event, said in a statement. enus has pulled out of Williams cup, which will see 24 nations across 3 cities in Austra- lia over 10 days for the first time, is similar in nature and the big ques- tion remains if the two can co-exist in the future. Shapovalov played brilliantly to lead Cana- da to it first Davis Cup final where they even- tually went down to Rafa Nadal’s Spain. The world number 15 will again take up the man- tle from Friday for Can- ada, who have been clubbed with Germany, Sydney: Canadian De- nis Shapovalov called on the organisers of the Davis Cup Finals and the ATP Cup to work together to create one world championship, saying it felt “weird” to play two similar events. The inaugural edition of the revamped Davis Cup, the International Tennis Federation’s flagship event, was held in November in Madrid with 18 nations playing a week-long World Cup-style show- piece. The rival ATP contesting Scorchers defeat Brisbane Heat New Delhi: Perth Scorchers thrashed Brisbane Heat by 40 runs in the Big Bash League (BBL) on Wednesday . Chasing a target of 150 runs, Stars did not start well and lost openers, Tom Ban- ton, in the third over and Max Bryant in fourth. Banton scored seven runs while Bry- ant made six. Australia: Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal reclaimed his title as the world’s best tennis player during the ATP Finals in November, becoming the second-oldest male to do so, behind Roger Federer. However, as the world celebrated the clock striking midnight on Tuesday, the 33-year-old quietly achieved something no tennis player has accomplished. Nadal is the first player in history to rank at No. 1 in three separate decades. After first attaining the No. 1 spot on the ATP rankings in Au- gust 2008, Nadal has taken part in an ongoing wrestle with Federer and Novak Djokovic for the accolade. Greece & hosts Austra- lia in Group F of the ATP Cup. The ATP Cup will have total prize money of $15 million. The new Davis Cup Finals of- fered around $18 million to teams and another $9 million to federations. soccer TOKYO OLYMPICS World champion Sindhu has laid her plans and goals for 2020 Sindhu is currently looking to entertain home fans at the fifth season of the Premier Badminton which will be held from January 20 to February 9. While Sindhu will turn up for the annual domestic league, some other top Indian shut- tlers such as Saina Ne- hwal and Kidambi Sri- kanth have decided to give it a miss to be in best shape for the Tokyo Olympics to be held from July 24 to August 9. nique and skill work- outs and everything will be planned and it will go well in the Olym- pic season,” Sindhu ex- uded confidence while talking about the Tokyo Games. The 24-year-old from Hyderabad will have the opportunity to emulate wrestler Sushil Kumar in becoming the second Indian to secure two Olympic medals when she turns up at the Tokyo Games. While Olympics is still seven months away , takes. It is important for me to stay positive, and come back stron- ger,” she added. Sindhu said she is working on her tech- nique to iron out the flaws. “There will defi- nitely be a lot of expectations from me but pressure and criticism doesn’t affect me because people always ex- pect me to win whenev- er I go. Olympics is the ultimate aim, for any- body. “We are doing a lot of work on tech- her failure to defend the World Tour Finals title last month. “World Championship was really good for me but after that I kept losing in the first rounds but I kept myself positive. It is not possible that you will win all matches. Sometimes you may play brilliantly, sometimes you will make mistakes,” Sindhu, who will next be seen at the Premier Badminton League (PBL). “I learnt a lot from those mis- New Delhi: Neither criticism nor the burden of expectations bother world champion shuttler PV Sindhu, who says she is com- pletely focussed on improving her craft in pursuit of a second Olympic medal at this year’s Tokyo Games. Sindhu claimed In- dia’s first ever World Championships gold in 2019 but she made early exits from a series of tournaments the rest of the season, including lll Shuttler PV Sindhu had a difficult time during the year 2019 apart from a historic World Championships gold and received a lot of criticism League

Life will ultimately be what we decide it to be. We can be in charge or we can watch from the sidelines. 2NDFRONT —Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO & Editor, First India 10 AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia AAP, Cong must apologise for inciting violence: Javadekar Clean energy initiative to bolster rural economy First India News Delhi: Union New Minister for Informa- tion and broadcasting and Delhi’s election in-charge for Bharati- ya Janata Party for Delhi assembly polls Prakash Javadekar launched a scathing attack on AAP and Congress while accus- ing them of inciting violence in the na- t i o n a l C a p i t a l against Citizenship Amendment Act. The minister asserted that the violence related to Citizenship Amendment Bill that happened in Delhi areas like Jamia, Seelam- pur and Jama Masjid cannot be forgiven. “In Jamia, Con- gress’ Asib Khan and AAP Amanatullah Khan delivered inciting speeches like bur- qa will be banned. They spread disinfor- mation. The law is to give citizenship to the people and not take citizenship away, “ stated Javadekar. The minister also added that people of the country are wise Bank fraud: ED attaches assets worth over `18 cr of Guj firm Ahmedabad: Council on Energy, Environment and Wa- ter (CEEW), a leading independent research institution, and Villgro Innova- tion Foundation, the country’s oldest and renowned social en- terprise incubators, have jointly embarked on a novel initiative “Powering hoods”, with a vision to bolster our rural economy through the scaling up of clean energy solutions. The initiative aims to provide dedicated capital, technical and sectoral growth support to at least five enterprises, which are deploying in- novative, clean energy- powered livelihood appli- ances, and shall enable them to undertake large- scale commercial operations over a period of next three years. The initiative boasts of having under its aegis investment partners like Cas- pian Debt, Upaya Social Ventures, among others. Capital-intensive industries have led The ‘CONFUSED CONGRESS’ Prakash Javadekar dubbed Congress as a “confused party” for raising questions over the appointment of Gen Bipin Rawat as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), and said any attempt to politicise issue is “con- demnable”. The CDS has established a new system and the country should be proud of it, Javadekar said at a press conference. policy hoods; ‘Powering Liveli- hoods’ aims to catalyze the transformation of India’s rural economy by scaling up the acces- sibility and commer- cialization of clean energy-based solutions.” By CEEW’s deep exper- tise in evidence-based policy formulation and sectoral engagement with Villgro’s years of experience in growing businesses, the initiative will be highly significant in terms of capital, ca- pacity building, and ecosystem support to help local enterprises in this domain survive and thrive, while es- caping the “commercial valley of death”. the transition towards clean energy in Guja- rat so far but many small and micro scale enterprises, especially in rural areas, have not reaped the benefit of clean energy so far. Besides mitigating greenhouse gas emis- sions, clean energy powered livelihood solutions could help improve productivity, product value and re- duce operating cost of the enterprises. Giving this information while launching the initiative, Arunab- ha Ghosh, CEO of CEEW, said, alone has more than USD 50bn worth of mar- ket for clean energy solutions for rural liveli- State BJP likely to get new Prez soon Liveli- Union Minister Prakash Javadekar speaks during a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday. dengue season? Our corporations organised an awareness drive against water accumu- lation and dengue cases went down. During corporation polls, Kejriwal said don’t choose BJP as dengue will claim lives. Now he is also claiming credit for de- crease in dengue cases because of the works done by these corporations, “ asserted Ja- vadekar “I am an environment minister, we worked on pollution control. There is no limit to their lies. About Unauthorised colonies, AAP says we have not regularised it. We made signed by President yet they spread lies,” added the environment Minister. Assembly Elections in Delhi are due in the coming months as the five year tenure of the AAP government comes to an end in February this year. are surprised that AAP slept through all these 4.5 years and remaining six months they have doled out schemes, “ added the minister. “Kaam kare koi topi pehne koi (work is done by someone else and the credit is taken by a different individual), “ said the minister while blam- ing the AAP government for taking credit of work done by BJP ruled corporations. “Who did fogging in and they understood the devious plan of Congress and AAP and both should apologize. “We will bring out the truth, fight is between anarchists and those who opposed it. Our agenda would be wholesome ment of Delhi. AAP strangulated the neck of municipal corporations attempt of development work. Rs 900 crores were not given. Today, people of Delhi marrying parties law develop- “India FLORAL PREP —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI TOP CONTENDERS "These fraudulently obtained LC funds were laundered by Nakoda Ltd through circular transactions with various firms and then utilised for re-payment of various loans including term loans, interest, banking charg- es and as working capital for meeting day-today expenses towards running its plant and factory ." "These are not the purposes for which the loans were sanc- tioned," the ED said. A total of nine wind turbine generators and land of the accused company locat- ed at Kulasekarapatti village in Tirunelveli district of Nadu have been attached under the Pre- vention of Money Laundering (PMLA), it said. The total value of these assets is Rs 18.08 crore, it added. —PTI New Delhi: Nine wind turbine generators and land, belonging to a Gujarat-based company, worth over Rs 18 crore have been attached by the ED in connection with its probe in an alleged bank fraud case, the agency said Wednesday. The Enforcement Directorate case per- tains to a Surat-based company Nakoda Ltd, its chairman managing (CMD) Babulal Gu- manmal Jain, his son and joint MD Dev- ender Babulal Jain and others. The company, the agency said in a statement, "had fund-based and non- fund based financial assistance from a consor- tium of 13 banks led by Canara Bank and later on defaulted in repay- ment of loans to the tune of Rs 2,107 crore." BJP to lose 1 RS seat in Guj this year while Cong to gain 1 Ahmedabad: The year 2020 is likely to re- main politically turbu- lent for Gujarat. As it is going to be an election year once again. Elections to the municipal corporations along with the Rajya Sabha. However, the most interesting will be the Rajya Sabha election. Chunni Go- hel (BJP), Madhusu- dan Mistry (Congress), Lalsingh Barodia (BJP) and Shambhu Prasad Tundia (BJP) will end their term in the Rajya Sabha in one out of three seats. Ahmedabad: The Gu- jarat BJP is likely to get a new state president this month if the incumbent Jitu Vagha- ni, whose three-year term expired in Au- gust, is not continued, party sources said. While the possibil- ity of Vaghani serv- ing a second term as state party chief cannot be ruled out, most party workers believe that the new president from the Patidar (Patel) community. The ruling party was to have a new State chief in December but this has been delayed since its organisational over- haul across the country has yet not concluded. According to the BJP’s structure, a state president can be elected only after the appointment of new district heads. “Election of state- level functionaries and office-bearers can be considered only af- based Probe found that the Jains "conspired" with a trader Puneet Rungta and Chartered Account- ant Jagdish Somani to carry out "fake" sale and purchases of fancy fabrics with the companies floated by the latter two, it alleged. "On the strength of fake purchase invoic- es, Nakoda Ltd opened 1,212 Letters of credit (LCs) with amounting to Rs 4,207 crore. Investigation also revealed that out of the 1,212 LCs, 202 worth Rs 827.98 crore devolved due to non- payment by the company," the charged. on ter the appointment of 60 per cent or more district heads is complete,” said a party official. The state BJP had earlier set Novem- ber 15 as the deadline for the appointment of new district which was later pushed to November 30. “So far, there has been no progress in this direction in Gujarat. The party is now looking to appoint district heads after the Kamurta (inauspicious days) ends on January 14,” said another BJP party official. —GNS and director Preparation underway for the 8th edition of Flower show at Sabarmati Riverfront near Elliese bridge in Ahmedabad. Different fl ower sculptures will be displayed in the show. heads, banks Tamil availed Act ED There are a total of 11 Rajya Sabha seats in Gu- jarat out of which BJP has 7 seats in Rajya Sab- ha while Congress have 4 seats. Currently, Mad- husudan Mistry , Ahmed Patel, Ami Yagnik and Naran Rathna are Rajya Sabha members from Congress. Ahmed Patel from Congress holds the record and won the Ra- jya Sabha elections five times in a row. Mathematics of Rajya Sabha elections April. Among the four members, three are from the BJP and one from the Congress. If these 4 seats are held together, BJP can lose one seat and Congress can gain one seat. Congress does not have a single seat in the 26 Lok Sabha seats, but the Rajya Sabha has four seats, which can later be increased to five. At present,Congress has 72 members while BJP has 103 members. On the basis of which Congress can get two seats, i.e. BJP will lose simultaneously, candidates must have the same preference vote. The fixed formula for which elections are held is to divide the number of seats of the total available MLAs by the number of seats. The number of votes a candidate can get, he should win by adding a number. There will be 4 seats vacant in Rajya Sabha. There are currently 179 MLAs by dividing it from 5 i.e 35.8 with an addition both it is 36.8, which is 37 votes to be consider. BJP needs a total of 111 MLA votes to get three seats. But presently BJP has 103 and Congress MLAs. Therefore, Congress will need 74 more votes to win two seats. Thus, Congress will have a loss of two votes, which can be offset by the support of Independent MLA Mavani and two members of the BTP but BJP may lose 8 members to win three seats. has 72 If all four seats are held

www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia AHMEDABAD, THURSDAY JANUARY 2, 2020 SONAM’S SONA Sonam K Ahuja Sonam’s Instagram post SMOOCHIE 2020 Yash Raj MOMENT B ollywood actress Sonam Kapoor recapped her mem- orable milestones achievements for the decade that has now ended. In a short clip on her In- stagram handle, the ‘Man- marziyaan’ actress can be seen dis- playing an intimate affection towards her soul mate Anand Ahuja against the sunny and romantic backdrop of Rome. In the caption, she wrote, “This past decade has been the most bril- liant. I’ve acted in some incredible movies where I’ve met some amaz- ing people who’ve become lifelong friends. I’ve made three films with @rheakapoor and realised that sis- ters make the best partners and can break glass Ceilings together with our films and sartorial choices And taken our passion for fashion and started @wearerheson. I met my soulmate @anandahuja and got married to him and built a home together. But most of all this decade has taught me that life has many paths and the only path that one should take is the one paved with the right intentions. Thank you to my family and friends, thank you to films and fashion. You make me whole. May love lead your way!” The gratitude-filled post racked up in excess of 1.5 million views in just two hours and attracted around 1,200 comments. Her father and Bollywood star Anil Kapoor showered the couple with emojis in the comments section. and A Austria, shared a picture from her vacation and expressed her adoration for the Yash Raj Films banner. The ‘Jabariya Jodi’ actor took to Instagram to share a picture of her posing in the beautiful valley . “Didn’t find a chiffon saree in my bag but I played some Yash ji songs in my head. Same no? #YRFGirlForever,” the actor captioned the picture. The remark was indica- tive of movies produced under the Yash Raj Films banner famous for their songs shot in lush valleys, usu- ally featuring fe- male actors in pretty chiffon sa- rees. On the work front, the actor was last seen in director P r a s h a n t S i n g h ’ s comedy-drama ‘Jabari- ya Jodi’ opposite actor Sidhar th Malhotra. Chopra will next be seen portraying the role of Indian badminton player Saina Nehw- al in the bio- graphical drama ‘Saina’. —ANI ctor Parineeti Chopra who is currently en- joying her leisure time in the valleys of ...her Instagram post Priyanka’s Instagram post A with a kiss, while raising a toast. The video of the mushy moment between the couple has gone viral. The intimate moment is from a Jonas Brothers concert in Florida last night. As the clock struck 12, the girls joined the brothers on the stage to welcome New Year with champagne. In the video, which has surfaced on the net, Sophie and Joe can be seen kissing when Pri- yanka joins Nick on the stage. Priyanka and Nick then shared a passionate kiss on stage while the fans cheered for them. —IANS ctress Chopra and her hus- band Nick Jonas welcomed the New Year Priyanka —ANI Priyanka Chopra Jonas with Nick Jonas A she wishes to create an impact in the society with the film. “I wanted to work in this film and produce this film because the more this story reaches people the more it is good for society, the country , and the world,” the actor said. “It is important to deliver the message that Laxmi and other survivors are an inspiration to us. I wanted to make this film to show what these survivors had made out of their lives after going through such incidents,” she added. Speaking about society’s behav- iour towards acid-attack survivors, the ‘Padmaavat’ actor said, “as a society , we do not treat them equally , we treat them as disabled people. Their life is not different but just like ours and we should treat them like we want to be treated.” “It is very important for them to be treated without sympathy and equally,” added Padukone. Penned by Atika Chohan, ‘Chhapaak’ is set to hit theatres on 10th January 2020. It is directed by Meghna Gulzar. ctor Deepika Padukone who is currently on a promotion spree for her upcoming Chhapaak on Tuesday said that film Deepika’s take on acid-attack SURVIVORS —ANI Deepika Padukone Parineeti Chopra

LISTING AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 12 www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia TRAVIS ‘will always love’ KYLIE R FACE OF THE DAY apper Travis Scotts says he will always love reality TV personality Kylie Jen- ner because she is the mother of his daughter Stormi. “I love (Stormi’s) mom- my and I always will. The hard part about relationships is just trying to be in one without a million outside voices interfering,” Travis said. The rapper added that being a “dad is better than what I thought it would be”, and he says that Stormi is his best friend. “I’ve been spending time with my family and with my daughter, Stormi. Being a dad is better than what I thought it would be. She’s like my best friend. She makes life a little bit easier. She just inspires me and she sur- prises me every day with how she’s thinking. It’s so crazy . Her mom and I came up with the name Stormi together,” said Travis. The rapper, 27, and the 22-year- old reality star Kylie got together in April 2017 and welcomed daughter Stormi on February 1, 2018. In October, the pair con- firmed they had split. HIMANI BAIRWA, Singer YOUR DAY Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY TODAY Always keep making good deeds and a lot of goodness will come. You are regular with your fitness plans and you are desperate to have a good body. A monetary benefit will come to you. ARIES MAR 21 - APR 20 TAURUS APR 21 - MA Y 20 Practice strict control on your diet as it plays the most important You will get unexpected support from your sibling in role in your fitness journey. You will be comfortable whole day long no matter where you are. You will get recognition in your academic institution. You will get compelled by your friends to go on a short trip with them. completing your work. Your parents really go out of way to do something for you and now its your time to make them feel special and express your sincere gratitude towards them. You will be happy. —IANS GEMINI MA Y 21 - JUNE 21 CANCER JUNE 22 - JUL Y 23 You will indulge yourself in some outdoor sports. Your lifestyle Your bargaining powers will really help you in buying stuff for speaks about your financial status and its improving just like your bank balance. Avoid any arguments with someone on road or in public. You will acquire a new property for the sole purpose of business. your house as you plan to redecorate. You will do a lot of investment in property and trust your intuition in matters like these. A tempo- rary separation from partner for work purpose should not effect you. LEO JUL Y 24 - AUGUST 23 You will laugh a lot today and will make others happy too. On professional front, your communication skills will play a key role in how much attention you get and if you get noticed by your seniors or not. Your physical strength is improving everyday as you are really working hard on it. VIRGO AUG 24 - SEP 23 You are satisfied with your work life. You must not stop yourself Kylie Jenner from doing that you love to do as a part time hobby. You will achieve academic goals and your sincerity will never disappoint you. Have faith in yourself when it comes to dealing with love matters. CITY THEATRE POLICE 100 FIRE 101 AMBULANCE 102/108 CHILD HELPLINE 1098 HELP IN SUFFERING 26305080 DIAL GOOD NEWWZ CAST : AKSHAY KUMAR, KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN, KIARA ADVANI AND DILJIT DOSANJH DIRECTOR: RAJ MEHTA 19 Cinema (South Bopal) : 8:20, 9:30, 10:45, 1:25, 2:15, 4:10, 5:00, 5:15, 6:55, 7:50, 9:45, 10:25, 10:45 AB Miniplex: 8:15, 10:45, 1:15, 1:40, 3:45, 5:00, 6:15, 7:30, 8:00, 9:45, 10:20, 10:35 Himalaya Mall: 8:00, 9:00, 10:30, 11:30, 1:00, 2:10, 4:00, 5:00, 7:00, 8:00, 10:00, 11:00 Cinemax (Dev Arc): 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 1:00, 2:00, 4:00, 5:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 Cinepolis (Ahmedabad One): 9:00, 10:00, 10:40, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 3:05, 4:05, 4:40, 6:10, 6:50, 7:10, 7:45, 9:15, 10:15 City Gold Satellite: 9:30, 11:30, 12:30, 2:45, 5:00, 7:00, 7:45, 9:30, 10:30 City Gold (Ashram Road): 9:00, 9:45, 10:30, 12:00, 12:45, 1:30, 3:00, 3:45, 4:30, 6:00, 6:45, 7:30, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 City Gold (Bopal): 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 11:45, 1:00, 2:15, 4:00, 5:00, 6:45, 8:00, 9:30, 10:15, 10:35 Devi Multiplex (Naroda): 9:30, 10:15, 12:15, 1:00, 3:00, 4:00, 7:00, 8:00, 10:00, 10:30 Miraj Cinemas Cine Pride: 9:30, 11:30, 12:15, 1:20, 2:15, 3:00, 4:05, 5:00, 5:45, 6:50, 7:45, 8:30, 9:35, 10:30, 11:15 Miraj City Pulse: 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:15, 1:15, 2:15, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, 5:00, 5:45, 6:45, 7:45, 8:30, 9:00, 9:30, 10:30, 11:15 Gulmohar Park Mall: 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:45, 1:45, 2:55, 3:29, 4:29, 5:34, 6:15, 7:15, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 PVR (Acropolis): 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 PVR (Arved Transcube): 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 PVR (Motera): 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 1:00, 2:00, 4:00, 5:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 Do you want to add your establishment here? Email your details to www.firstindia.co.in LIBRA SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22 On professional front, you will do the undoable and you will find yourself in the limelight. You must not let yourself get carried away by anyone loose talks. You must try your best to repair your old relationship for your own mental peace. SCORPIO OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22 You will meet your dear ones today after a long time. You may need to spend a quiet evening with your spouse today. Self reflection is very important, so take time off to introspect. You will spend a lot on your friends today just make sure to know your limits. Dangee Dums (Narangpura) ............... ................................... 079 6615 3044 Dangee Dums (Ambavadi) .................. .................................... 098980 88885 Cakes N Bakes (University Road) .................................... 094265 18499 Kabhi B Bake Studio (Ambavadi) ........ .................................... 099988 14719 Sadhna Orthopaedic Hospital ............. ................................... 079 2657 6470 Shalby Hospital ........... 079 4020 3000 Avron Hospital ............. 090818 30100 CIMS Hospital .............. 098250 66664 CARS & SHOWROOMS Audi ............................ 0787 878 8136 BMW ........................... 090992 34567 Mercedes-Benz (CG Road) ................. .................................... 078787 33555 Ford ............................. 099306 08586 Honda .......................... 086575 88792 Maruti Suzuki (Kataria Automobiles) .. ................................... 079 6134 3781 Planet Hyundai (Maninagar) ............... .................................... 098250 05590 FOREX Polo Forex Pvt. Ltd. Currency Exchange ..................... 090998 04461 Sambhav Forex Pvt. Ltd. ......079 2646 PAMPER THYSELF Rajhans Cinemas (Nikol): 9:00, 10:00, 11:40, 1:15, 2:20, 5:00, 6:50, 7:45, 9:30, 10:30 Rajhans Cinemas (Satadhar): 9:00, 10:20, 11:40, 1:00, 2:20, 3:10, 4:00, 5:00, 5:45, 6:40, 7:45, 9:20, 10:30 Agora Mall: 9:30, 11:15, 12:15, 2:15, 3:00, 4:15, 5:45, 7:00, 8:30, 10:00, 11:15 Time Cinema: 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 12:00, 12:30, 1:15, 2:15, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 9:45, 10:00, 10:15, 10:30, 10:45 Wide Angle: 9:45, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:00, 1:45, 3:00, 4:00, 5:30, 6:30, 8:00, 9:00, 9:30, 10:30 Godrej Garden City: 9:15, 11:00, 11:40, 1:00, 1:30, 2:20, 4:50, 7:00, 7:30, 9:00, 10:00 Amber Cinema: 10:00, 1:00, 7:00 Anupam Cinema: 10:00, 4:00, 10:00 Himalaya Ebony Lounge: 12:00, 4:30, 10:30 Chhotu Maharaj Cine Restaurant: 11:00, 2:30, 6:00, 9:30 Cine Square Cinemas: 10:00, 12:30, 3:00, 4:15, 5:30, 8:00, 9:30, 10:30 Cinemax (Shiv): 9:00, 10:00, 1:00, 3:00, 4:00, 6:00, 7:00, 9:00, 10:00 Cineworld (Naroda): 9:00, 10:00, 12:15, 12:45, 2:45, 3:20, 4:30, 6:00, 8:45, 9:15, 10:15, 11:15 City Gold (Bapunagar): 9:30, 10:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 4:15, 6:00, 7:30, 9:30, 10:30 City Gold (Motera): 9:00, 10:00, 11:45, 12:30, 2:30, 5:15, 7:45, 10:30 City Pulse Multiplex: 10:00, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 9:45, 11:59 O2 Spa (Raddisson Blu Hotel) ............ .................................... 099980 61211 The Thai Spa (Ahmedabad One Mall) .................................... 075672 25441 Hummingbirds Spa (CG Road) ........... ................................... 079 4037 3377 Enrich Salon (University Area) ........... .................................... 090995 73000 B&B Salon & Nails (Navrangpura) .................................... 099794 24891 Shades of Blackk Spalon (Vastrapur) .................................... 076000 98000 Lakme Salon (Navrangpura) ............... ................................... 079 4007 6019 9909 Thomas Cook (Lal Bungalow, Ahmedabad) ................ 086575 35806 BLOOD BANKS Cross World Bank and Sankalp .......... ......................................91521 23660 Red Cross Blood Service .................... .................................... 097222 69610 Indian Blood Service .... 098980 30960 Green Cross Voluntary Blood Bank ..................................... 07926408820 White Cross Blood Bank and Path. Lab ............................... 07922815227 SAGITTARIUS NOV 23 - DEC 22 Give comfort to your parents today and make them feel special. You will be very competent at work today. Your money will grow, considering your investment choices. You are living your life and you keep others happy too. You may buy a new property today. You will feel relaxed. CAPRICORN DEC 23 - JAN 20 Those involved in marketing business will attract many clients today. All the struck money will get released. You will exert in office today more than ever and will also get the reward for the same. You may put your property up for sale to earn profit. INTERNET SERVICES UN Internet Service Provider (CG Road, Navrangpura) .... 079 4050 7676 AHMEDABAD BY SIGHT Sidi Saiyyed Mosque ... 079 2550 7147 Dada Harir Stepwell .... 079 2550 7147 Sabarmati Riverfront ... 079 2658 0430 Gujarat Science City .... 079 2970 3122 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport ........................ 079 2286 9211 Tourism Corporation of Gujarat .......... ................................... 079 2657 8046 DIAL-UP-A-DISH Domino’s ..............................6888688 Pizza Hut (CG Road) .......0794019480 Pizza Hut (Ashram Rd) .. 07923988398 Subway (Navrangpura) . 07940049990 Subway (Paldi) ............. 07940040002 McDonald’s (Himalaya Mall) ............... ................................... 022 6600 0666 Java+ Mariott (Ramdev Nagar) ........... ..................................... 07966185000 FLORISTS Aristo Florist (Ambavadi) ................... .................................... 099093 33322 Rami Brothers (Navrangpura) ............ ................................... 079 2656 5080 Orchid Florist (Navrangpura) .............. .................................... 098797 78891 Ferns N Petals (Satellite) .................... .................................... 093761 15848 GAS COMPANIES AQUARIUS JAN 21 - FEB 19 PISCES FEB20 - MARCH 20 You may be the one many who will get some exclusive privilege. You have an analytical mind and this would help you in accumulating wealth. You have many secrets inside your heart and you share with none but try and confined in someone. Jay Jyoti Gas Agency ... 085090 88306 Adani Gas ................... 079 2754 2988 Bharat Gas Office ........ 1800 233 3555 Reliance Gas - Sheth Gas Service ..................................... 07926584544 You have financial stability as well as strength to EYE BANK MEDICINES 24×7 continue working hard so nothing can slow you down. You and your kids will spend some wonderful time together, deploying respect and understanding for each other. Your love is pure and honest. UTILITIES C.S.Samarya Red Cross International Eye Bank ....................... 07927413333 Tapan Medical Stores .. 079 2545 1918 Karnavati Medical Store .......079 2657 AMC (Danapith Rd.) - 079 2539 1811 5799 WHEELCHAIR/OXYGEN/WALKERS Torchit Pvt. Ltd. ........... 073836 35420 Silverline Meditech Ltd...91521 68755 HOSPITALS Akshar Medical Store ... 098982 24888 Bodyline Hospital .......... 07698003120 Stavya Spine Hospital . 079 2656 5657 ORDER A CAKE...& MORE

ETC AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 202013 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia FILMY PARTY FOR 2020!!! As we step into 2020, everyone including our favourite Bollywood celebrities have welcomed the New Year by celebrating it with their closed ones. Celebs like Shah Rukh Khan, Radhika Apte, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli, Gauri Khan, Aryan, Suhana and Abram Khan, Ananya Panday, Sanjay Kapoor and Varun Dhawan with girlfriend Natasha Dalal among others celebrities were seen celebrating the New Year this way! Bollywood get-together hosted by Shah Rukh Khan Malaika and Amrita Arora with friends Gauri Khan with friends during the party Ananya Panday, Aryan Khan and Suhana Khan with friends Karan Singh Grover and Bipasha Basu Radhika Apte Arjun Kapoor and Malaika Arora Aryan Khan, Maheep Kapoor and AbRam Khan Sanjay Kapoor with friends From Left- Saif Ali Khan, Anushka Sharma, Varun Dhawan, Natasha Dalal, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Virat Kohli Chunky Panday, Bhavana Panday and Ananya Panday Neetu Kapoor with friends Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma

CITY BUZZ AHMEDABAD | THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2020 14 www.fi rstindia.co.in I www.fi rstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefi rstindia I facebook.com/thefi rstindia I instagram.com/thefi rstindia RING OUT THE OLD RING IN THE NEW —PHOTOS BY HANIF SINDHI/ NANDAN DAVE Not ones to hold on to the past, Amdavadis across the city celebrate the arrival of a brand new year. Babubhai Sentimental TRAILER LAUNCHED Kutch: Where Stars Grace the Desert culture of Gujarat. Music concerts, stalls exhibiting local products, folk dances, etc., are things that will hold your breath in the chilling wintry nights of Kutch. Since its inception in 2005, tourism in the area has increased to a great extent. Overnight, tourists have increased from 15.93 lakhs to 23.95 lakhs during 2016-17, leading to 50% growth in the number of tourists as com- pared to 2011-2012. This year too; the number of tourists is expected to rise exponentially till the culmination of the festival in February 2020. In addition to offering tour- During the event Mysha Films, Mori Group and Cizzara Cine- art Studios released the trailer at Time Cinema and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd in Ahmedabad. Milan Sharma, the film’s director, told First India, “Babubhai Senti- mental is about a sensitive man who is forced to pick up a weapon due to life’s circumstances. The trailer has been well-received and we’re sure the audience will love the film as well.” cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com that’s hitting theatres January 17. The film stars Nakshraaj Kumar and Shivani Joshi, with Nisarg Trivedi, Kamal Sisodiya and Mayur Chauhan meaty roles. Babubhai Sentimental has been produced by Nidhi Mori and Veena Sharma, directed by Milan Shar- ma and written by Raj Rathod, with editing and special effects by Amit Patel. Vivek gave the music of the movie. CITY FIRST T Whether or not you hold that to be true in your life, the Gujarati film industry certainly seems to be heading towards a very productive year. The recently released trailer for action-adven- ture Babubhai Senti- mental is already creating a buzz for the film hey say January often sets the tone for whole IAN RODRICKS cityfirstgujarat@gmail.com S of India and then Chief Min- ister of Gujarat Narendra Modi, the Rann Utsav has now become a three-month-long festival which enables tourists to catch a glimpse of the rich flora and fauna in addition to the magnificent celebration of the art, life and the year. staff associated with it. The State Government had granted special funds to the Dhordo panchayat under the development plan to create a special resort called ‘The Gateway of Rann’ which is constructed in traditional Bugga style by local artisans using local Kutchi raw material. The village women, who do their mutva embroidery and mirror-work, find customers at their doorstep. ists an opportunity to enjoy the diverse colours of Guja- rat, the festival has proven to be a blessing for the local people and the area. The tourism boom has changed the financial land- scape of 25 villages in the salt- pans of Kutch and benefited local villagers too. It has eco- nomically empowered local artisans, tourist guides, management and administrative tarted in the year 2005 as a three-day event, under the leadership of the Prime Minister in other Hitesh-

First India News Paper|Gujarat-English News Paper Today-02 January 2020 edition

First India News Paper|Gujarat-English News Paper Today-02 January 2020 edition

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