2Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Printed & Published by Mayur C. Bhatt on behalf ofKalyani Pub. Pvt. Ltd Printed at- Mahadev Offset,H-47 Ravi Estate, Rustam Mill Compound, Dudheshwar,Ahmedbada-4. Published from 201-2, Nandan Com.Opp. Mithakhali Rly Crossing, Mithakhali, Ahd-6Edi.: Mayur Bhatt

EDITIROAL

High drama in Godhra civicbody meet over key panels

Ahmedabad : High dramatook place at the generalboard meeting of Godhramunicipality on Friday whereAIMIM is part of the rulingcoalition. BJP, along withmembers supporting it,formed committees as thecoalition holding majoritystayed away. The generalboard meeting wasscheduled to appointchairpersons of variouscommittees.

However, on Thursdayevening president of themunicipality Sanjay Soni‘postponed’ the meeting inwake of the death of

thespian Dilip Kumar.Drama, however, began

at the auditorium where themeeting had been scheduledafter the BJP members alongwith supporters, broke openthe lock of the auditorium andheld the meeting. A meetingwas convened and the BJP-led coalition formed thecommittees for var iousdepartments in the civicbody.

Soni said that the entireexercise was held underpressure and the officialsacted on the instructions fromtheir higher ups to hold themeeting. “The president can

convene or postpone ameeting,” he said.

At one end, those whoheld the meeting have arguedthat any postponement shouldhave been done after startingthe meeting and not before itbegan. At the other end, theofficials and those whoattended the meeting heldthat there was a quorum andthe meeting could beconvened. It was also allegedthat corporators of the rulingcoalition were squabblingamong themselves for beingappointed as chairpersons ofcommittees and this hadforced them to try andpostpone the meeting. Soni,however, said that he had apaper with signature of amajority of members seekingpostponement of themeeting. Godhra municipalityhas 44 members, of which 18are from BJP, seven fromAIMIM and one fromCongress. The remainingmembers are independent.

Godhra pol ice hadreached the municipality hallin large numbers to preventany untoward incident. In thepast too, tempers have runhigh in the municipality hallwhere meetings were beingheld.

Second wave dulls fear of corona among the lawless

Ahmedabad : Fear ofCovid seemed to have lost itssting among the criminalminded during the the secondwave unlike in the first waveof the pandemic. While therewas considerable drop in thenumber of gambling andprohibition cases duringlockdown and fear of killervirus during 2020 in the city,the number of cases this timearound has gone back to2019’s pre-Covid times.

Cocking a snook at socialdistancing norms, gamblingactivities never ceased in thecity. Compared to 355gambling cases in January toMay 2019, police registered390 cases this year for thesame period. In these cases,2,018 accused were arrestedagainst 2,110 in 2019.

In case of bootlegging,spirits were literally highamong the crafty bootleggerswho innovated their ways tosmuggle in liquor. In Januaryto May 2019 police hadregistered 790 cases underprohibition Act for sellingIndian Made Foreign Liquor(IMFL), while in 2021 total 703

cases were registered. In thefirst five months of 2019,1,001 bootleggers werearrested, while this year 966

persons were caught ferryingliquor illicitly. Not only IMFL,even country liquor figuresshow a rise in the second

wave. It should be noted thatgambling and liquor dens arehubs that see large gatherings.A booze party held in Man

Darwaja tenement wasbelieved to be the trigger of thefirst wave in the city, accordingto senior health officials.

3Tuesday, July 13, 2021

WESTERN RAILWAY WOMEN'S WELFARE ORGANISATIONFELICITATES THE ALL WOMEN STAFF OF MATUNGA ROAD STATION

Smt. Tanuja Kansal -President of Western

Railway Women's WelfareOrganisation(WRWWO)

addressing thefelicitation event at

Matunga Road station.

In the first photo, welcoming of President Smt. Tanuja Kansal at Matunga Road station. In the second &third photos, meritorious women staff of the station awarded with cash prize. In the last photo, the all-women's staff of Matunga Road station alongwithPresident WRWWO Smt. Kansal and President WRWWO

Mumbai Division Smt. Sheela Satyakumar.

Ahmedabad, WesternRailway Women's WelfareOrganisation (WRWWO) hasalways come forward to caterto the welfare of railwayemployees and their familiesas well as encourage womenemployees at their workplace.In continuation to this, on 9thJuly, 2021 Smt. Tanuja Kansal- President of WRWWO visitedMatunga Road station&interacted with women staff.Matunga Road station is thefirst station on WR to bemanned by all womenstaff.Smt. Kansal waswelcomed by PresidentWRWWO Mumbai DivisionSmt. Sheela Satyakumar atMatunga Road station.

According to a pressrelease issued by Shri SumitThakur - Chief Public Relations

Officer of Western Railway,Smt. Tanuja Kansal visitedMatunga Road station andpersonally interacted with allstaff of the station. She alsovisited the Booking Office tounderstand how the work staffmanages public interaction atcounters. Women staff ofMatunga Road station Smt.Archana Yadav Dy. StationSuperintendent, Smt. ZoyaKhan - Sr. Asst. CommercialClerk and Smt. Manjeet

Bhosale - Ticket Examinershared their experiences ofmanaging the station runcompletely by women force.A skit was also performed bythe ticket checking staffdepicting how to deal withpassengers found withoutticket.

Smt. Kansal awarded twomeritorious lady staff, Smt.VaishaliSevekar - ChiefBooking Supervisor and Smt.Archana Yadav - Deputy

Station Superintendent withcash awards of Rs. 1500each. Smt.Va i s h a l i S e v e r k a r h a sdisplayed tremendous efforts,sincerity and dedication in herduties and has ensuredsmooth functioning of ticketcounters. Smt. ArchanaYadav has displayed greatdedication in her duties andduring the heavy rains on 9thJune, 2021 she worked in thewaterlogged condition to

clamp points and ensure safedeparture of long distancetrains which were strandeddue to heavy rainfall. Smt.Kansal also awarded a groupaward of Rs. 25,000 to thewomen staff and sharedwords of encouragement touplift the women employeesto continue their hardwork.Executive members ofWestern Railway Women'sWelfare Organisation werealso present on this occasion.

Development of Aquatics and RoboticsGallery at Gujarat Science City

Ahmedabad, TheGovernment of Gujarat hasestablished the GujaratCouncil of Science City,(GCSC) aregistered society,to achieve the GujaratScience City mandate. TheGujarat Council ofScienceCity (GCSC) was registered on10.08.1999 as a wholly ownedGovernment Societyunder theprovisions of the SocietiesRegistration Act, 1860. TheGCSC was set up undertheaegis of Department ofScience & Technology fordeveloping the Science Cityproject atAhmedabad,Gujarat. As part of Phase IIdevelopments in the ScienceCity, new galleries are beingdeveloped withapplied andcutting-edge themes. GCSCis currently developing astate-of-the-art pubic

Aquatics Gallery( built uparea of over 15,000 sqm)which is expected to thelargest publicaquarium inIndia and may also bepositioned among the top 5aquariums in Asia. Theaquariumconsists ofdifferent tanks dedicated toaquatic species belonging todifferent regions of theworldalong with a main tank (22lakh litres) consisting of majorsharks from across theworldand a 28-meter uniquewalkway tunnel, providing anexperience never seenbefore. The totalwatervolume in the aquarium isabout 40 lakh litres, withsystems to develop salt waterandbrackish water inhousealong with complete lifesupport, filtration and watertreatment systems. –

WRWWO PRESIDENT SMT. TANUJA KANSAL PROVIDESFINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO 12 WIDOWS OF RAILWAYMEN

Smt. TanujaKansal - President of Western RailwayWomen's Welfare Organisation handing over financial

assistance to the widow of a pointsman at BandraTerminus station.

Smt. TanujaKansal inspiring the audience to never give up hope. Also seen areSmt Sheela Satya Kumar- President WRWWO Mumba Division along with

Executive Members of WRWWO.

Ahmedabad, WesternRailway Women WelfareOrganisation (WRWWO)has always rendered its bestpossible help to the WesternRailway employees & theirfamilies in the times of theirdifficulties and need in areawhere railwayadministration has its limits.To commemorateInternational Widow's Dayrecently, as a token ofsupport and onhumanitarian grounds, Smt.TanujaKansal - President ofWestern Railway Women'sWelfare Organisation(WRWWO) providedfinancial assistance to thewidows of the WesternRailway's employees wholost their l ives whileperforming their duty.

According to a pressrelease issued by ShriSumit Thakur - Chief PublicRelations Officer of WesternRailway, Smt. TanujaKansal-

President Western RailwayWomen's WelfareOrganisation (WRWWO)handed over Rs 5000/- eachto the 12 widows of WR'sGroup 'D' employees, who losttheir life during the dischargeof their duty in the year 2020-21. It has been a great loss tothe family, as well as theorganization, that theseemployees lost their lives. Asa mark of solidarity, WRWWOdecided to provide financialassistance to the widows of

the deceased employeesworking in Western Railway.Smt. Kansal encouraged the

widows to empowerthemselves and be confidentto face adversities. She saidthat WR employees havealways been sincere in theirwork, and even during thecovid pandemic have ferventlycarried out their duty.

Shri Thakur stated that,SmtSoniDevaji wife of LateShri Devaji- Pointsman atSanjan of Mumbai CentralDivision, was handed over Rs5000/- at a funct ionorganized at Bandra

Terminus recent ly. Theothers who received thefinancial assistance from

WRWWO wereSmtRajeshwari Michael fromMumbai Div is ion;SmtVasantben R and SmtNeha Kumari from VadodaraDivision; SmtRanjanben andSmtJasibenVaghela fromAhmedabad Divis ion;SmtSavitriand SmtPumabafrom Rajkot Div is ion;SmtGudiyaKumari andSmtVanita Bai fromBhavnagar Division andSmtBhavna and SmtSaritafrom Ratlam Division.

Amazon Businesslaunches'Bill to Ship to' featureAhmedabad, Amazon

Business today announced thelaunch of the 'Bill to Ship to'feature that gives anopportunity to businesscustomers with GSTregistration inonly one state toclaim tax credit for ordersdelivered acrossIndia.Amazon Businesscustomers who have GSTINregistration for one or fewstates but want to get theirshipments delivered acrossthe country can nowconveniently use this featureand manage their indirectoffice expenses better.

Commenting on thelaunch, Peter George, Director,Amazon Business said, "Weunderstand the importance ofGST credit for our customersand are constantly workingtowards improving theirexperience on the Amazon

Business marketplace. Withthe launch of the 'Bill to Shipto' feature we havetaken alead in solving this uniquecustomer problem and offereda solution which allow themto claim GST credit on theirbilling address for their pan-India shipments. Thisconvenient featurea l l o w s c u s t o m e r s t oconsolidate the tax credit toonestate and make use of GSTcredit more effectively."

The 'Bill to Ship to' featureespecially addresses theinvoicing concerns ofbusinesses. As long ascustomers have one GSTIN intheir business account, theywill be able to get GST invoicefor all their business ordersusing new address- Invoicebilling address which will getshown to them duringcheckout workflow. (19-10)

FDC Limited Launches India's FirstFavipiravir Oral Suspension - Favenza

Ahmedabad, Home-grownpharma major, FDCLimited,today, announced thelaunch of India's firstoralsuspension of Favipiravir-Favenza Oral Suspension,used to treat mild to moderatecases of COVID-19.Thisprescription-onlysolution is currently availableat all retail medical outlets andhospital pharmacies across thecountry. The Favenzasuspension is unique due to itsConvenient Loading Dose (Day1) of 18 ml in the morning and18 ml in the evening. Theresults of which are equivalentto 9 tablets of Favipiravir400mg making the process ofCovid-19 treatment hasslefree. Mr. Mayank Tikkha,General Manager - BusinessDevelopment & CommercialExcellence, FDC Ltd.commented, "With positivecases on the rise again, nowis the time to providehealthcare warriors in ourcountry with viable options inthis continuous battle againstthis disease. In order to

combat Covid-19, we believein offering best efficacy alongwith convenience to ourpatients and as such we havefocused our efforts in makingthe process of Covid-19treatment hassle-free."

India, with the secondhighest number of casesglobally, is seeing about50,000 cases being addedevery day. Though on adecline, the second wave isfar from over and there arefears of an oncoming thirdwave. (19-10)

Indian American girl to beon the red carpet at Cannes

Ahmedabad, 16 year oldIndian American, Sia Parekh,will appear at the Global ShortFilm Awards Gala in CannesFrance on 12th July 2021 as amodel for famous fashiondesigner and producer AndresAquino. Sia is an accomplishedDancer, Model; and an aspiringactress.

Sia will also be seen on theworld-famous red carpet at theCannes Film Festival. She is thedaughter of immigrant parentswith roots in Vadodra, Gujarat;her dad is an IT professionaland her mom is a social workerand professional photographer.She currently is pursuing herhigh school studies in Ohio,USA. Sia is extremely excitedfor receiving an opportunity ofbeing a part of these events atCannes. She says, "Challengesare what make life interesting,overcoming them is whatmakes life meaningful." Theyoung girl adds, "I amextremely thankful to Andres forproviding me such atremendous opportunity whichwill help in furthering my careergoals."

Sia has presented an

example that people's opinionabout Height, Skin Colour andAppearance cannot stop thejourney of success, growthand passion. As she wasbullied for her short height,rather than getting boggeddown Sia rose to the occasionand sharply focused on herdream. Today, Sia is a positive& successful contributor in therealm of Art, Culture andFashion. She is determined tohelp other young minds bysharing her story and gettingthem the support they need.With a keen interest in fashion,acting and dance; Sia hasparticipated and won acclaimin various pageants andcompetitions. (19-10)

Jawa introduces Khakhi &Midnight Grey colours

Ahmedabad, It is not justa number or a year on thecalendar. 1971 signifies aglorious milestone, decoratedwith the bravery and valour ofour armed forces leading toone of the most remarkablevictories in the history of Indiaas a nation. Setting thecontext for this tribute,Anupam Thareja, Co-Founder,Classic Legends said, "Howwe measure success as acompany is not by how manymotorcycles we sell. It is byhow much we're able to giveback."Presenting the two newcolours of Jawa as a tributeto the 1971 victory, AshishSingh Joshi, CEO, ClassicLegends said, "We have aspecial place in our heart for

the men and women whoprotect our nation. We callthem Forever Heroes and it'sthe cornerstone of Jawa'sexistence. It gives us immensepride to dedicate the JawaKhakhi and Jawa MidnightGrey to commemorate the50th anniversary of the 1971war victory. As a company weare honoured to carry theIndian Army's insignia on ourmotorcycles that will foreverremind the riders of thebravery and sacrifices madeby our soldiers to keep ourmotherland protected."

The Jawa Khakhi &Midnight Grey will be availableacross Jawa Dealerships andwill be priced at INR 1,93,357ex-showroom, Delhi. (19-10)

5 unforgettable Indian dishes that made the judgesgo gaga at MasterChef Australia Season 13

Ahmedabad, The journeyin the latest edit ion ofMasterChef Australia Season13 on Disney+ Hotstar hasbeen a thr i l l ing one.Featuring talented homecooks spreading magic in thekitchen while they battle it outin tough challenges, thecompetit ion has nowreached its final leg. Withtraditional Indian flavoursbeing the king, this seasonhas witnessed appetizingIndian dishes beingpresented to the judges. Afew of our favourite dishesincluding those from thecorner of our street havemade it big on this reputedinternational stage. Here'sbringing you five such desidishes created by thetalented contestants in

MasterChef Australia Season13 - streaming new episodesonly on Disney+ HotstarPremium in English, Tamil,Telugu and Hindi as well asDisney+ Hotstar VIP in Hindi,Tamil and Telugu - that havebowled us over! (19-10)

LAND ROVER SUPPORTS VIRGIN GALACTIC’SFIRST FULLY CREWED SPACE FLIGHT

Ahmedabad, Land Roverwas part of the mission asVirgin Galactic completed itsfirst ever fully crewed spaceflight, with founder SirRichard Branson on board asone of four Mission Specialists.The SpaceShipTwo Unity crafttravelled with four MissionSpecialists and two pilots onboard. The six-strong crewstarted and completed theirmission at Spaceport Americain New Mexico. Sir Richardarrived for the ‘Unity 22’mission in a Range RoverAstronaut Edition and after asafe landing his spacecraftwas towed back to waitingwell-wishers by a Land RoverDefender 110.

The company’s fourthcrewed spaceflight was thefirst to carry a full crew. Thosein the cabin experienced out-of-seat weightlessness andincredible views of Earth fromspace. Audiences around theworld watched a livestream ofthe space flight, seeing first-hand the extraordinary

experience Virgin Galactic iscreating for future astronauts.

“This is an incredibletechnical and humanachievement for the VirginGalactic team as they tookpersonal adventure to thrillingnew heights,” said JoeEberhardt, President & CEO,Jaguar Land Rover NorthAmerica. “Land Rover is proudto have supported thisexciting mission and we lookforward to supporting all theflights into the future.” VirginGalactic is the world’s firstcommercial ‘spaceline’. It hasalready signed up around 600Future Astronaut customers,who will be transported to theirflights in vehicles supplied bypartner Land Rover. (20-4)

Four including a minorheld for extortion

Ahmedabad : Acting on akidnapping and extortioncomplaint lodged by a farmerof Faddang vil lage, theDetection of Crime Branch(DCB) of Rajkot city police onWednesday arrested fourpersons, including a minor boy.

Those arrested wereidentified as Shivraj Vala (19),Gaurava Hirani (21), Lalji Rank(21), and a minor boy. Hiraniand Rank are residents ofBagasara town of Amreli whileVala is a native of Faddangvillage and lives in Surat. The62-year-old Vallabh Khunt, afarmer who also works as aland broker, had lodged acomplaint against the fourpersons with Kuvadava Roadpolice on July 3. “On July 3,Vala and his associates

kidnapped Khunt from hisvillage and demanded Rs 15lakh while threatening to killhim. Scared by the revolverthat was pointed towards him,Kunth paid Rs 3.85 lakh to theaccused. Later, he approachedthe police and lodged acomplaint,” police said. Afortnight ago, a complaint waslodged against Vala and Hiranifor creating ruckus at a hotelin Sarthana area of Surat.Since then they have beenstaying in a farm at Faddangvillage. Later, they hatched aplan to extort money fromKhunt. Interestingly, policelater found that the revolverused to scare Khunt was a toygun. The cops also seized a carand mobile phones from theaccused.

Builder’s minor son runs car into cops, PSI diesRajkot: A 58-year-old

police sub-inspector (PSI) diedafter being mowed down by aspeeding car that wasallegedly being driven by aClass IX student in Junagadhon Tuesday night. PSI DayaSingrakhiya, who was to retirein four months, was on footpatrol along with other cops,when the boy who was drivingrecklessly. rammed into theteam of policemen. Theincident occurred at around10:30pm when deputy

superintendent of policePradeepsinh Jadeja and othercops were on foot patrollingnear Damodar Kund in thetown and walking towardsBhavnath Taleti (foothill). “Thecar driver was speeding in aserpentine way and we couldmove aside in the nick of time.However, Dayabhai could notmove quickly and was moweddown by the car. Scared by theaccident, the driver escapedfrom the spot but weimmediately alerted the

Bhavnath police who managedto detain him,” Jadeja told.

The seriously injured PSIwas rushed to the hospital buthe died during treatment.

Singrakhiya was a nativeof Porbandar. “The boy’sfather is a builder inJunagadh. We have bookedthe him under relevantsections of Indian Penal Codeincluding 304 ( culpablehomicide not amounting tomurder) and sections MotorVehicle Act. We will get thefather’s license cancelled forallowing the minor to drive thecar,” Jadeja added.

4Tuesday, July 13, 2021

THE MANDELA GANDHIINTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Ahmedabad, “THERE’S somuch talk about terrorists. I’llsay terrorists are people whoare compelled to becometerrorists. Hate terrorism, notterrorists.” Though she’sbattling the ailments whichseem customary for anyoctogenarian, Ms. TaraGandhi Bhattacharjee, theFather Of The Nation’sgranddaughter, was not justpoise personified and graceexemplified, but also spokefrom the heart with the spiritthat completely justifies herlineage. Addressing theaudience on a zoom call, sheexpressed her belief that it’sthe children who are thefuture ambassadors of peace.

Telling the august gatheringwhich had impactfuleducators, representativesfrom the legal fraternity,media personalities andstudents from India and SouthAfrica, participating in thisexchange program curated bywww.voicesonline.com

The webzine which hasbeen consistently presentingmeaningful dialogues and isdedicated to provide aplatform for the studentcommunity, witnessed theattendance of dynamic whoare also responsible citizens.The moderator Kanak Gupta,Director of Seth M.R.JaipuriaSchools, then introduced us toConsul General Of India,

Johannesburg, Ms. AnjuRanjan. It was evident thatsuch a dialogue, not justamong present vote bank butalso the future citizens, issurely the need of the hour.It’s always a sheer delight tolisten to Advocate Anoop Boseand on this special occasion,there was no way that thepractitioner from theSupreme Court woulddisappoint. The CGO of TataSons,Tanmoy Chakraborty isalways equipped to deliverwith his signature style of‘strong impact in the mostsophisticated style.’ He tooendorsed the need for suchexchanges.

The Principal of The BSS

School, Ms. Sunita Sen andMr. John Andrew Bagul, thePrincipal at South CityInternational expressed theirperspectives on Peace andGlobal security. Adding powerto this segment was educatorSumit Dargan who logged infrom Bombay, where sir is theprincipal at the JBCN School.Inhis trademark style, Mr.Dargan was rattling facts andfigures while waxing eloquentabout a topic he was evidentlypassionate about.

Professor Deborshi Barat,faculty with the Legal wingfrom OP Jindal University inSonepat, and an actor ofrepute, navigated us to thesegment we were waiting for,the student segment. ChloeVan Wyk talking aboutindigenous tribes and theapartheid, and Faith Stridelogged in from South Africa,shared with us, beautifullocales of Boulder’s Beach,Cape Town, City Bowl. CarliKapp also joined the meeting,representing the guest nation.India was represented bySimran Choudhury, NavyaBhalotia, Aanya Datta,Bhumika Dahima and NamanPoddar. It was evident that thestudents were of the opinionthat existence with peace andharmony was certainly apriority mandate. Environmentissues and acceptance andappreciation of culture wereexplored and investigated.

Adrija Jana, not justrepresented India but alsoexpressed the need for anexchange program of thisnature. She played a pivotalrole in ensuring this event waspossible.

Advocate RuhailChoudhury, the founder ofwww.vo i ceson l i ne . comreminded us that this onlineplatform will continue to ensurethat students across the globe,find their voice on this platformand discuss any issue that theywish to share. During theacknowledgement speech,Adrija mentioned educationfacilitator Lopa Sharma whoplayed the role of assemblingthe speakers. We look forwardto the next creative endeavorof the webzine and enrichourselves as we listen to thevoices of tomorrow.

Massive fire in pharma unit in Gujarat's BharuchSURAT: A major fire broke

out at a healthcare company’sactive pharmaceuticalingredients (API)manufacturing unit in GIDCestate in Panoli in Bharuch onSunday.

Fire officials said that thefire broke out after a blast dueto some chemical reactions inthe unit.

Post the blast, flamesengulfed the entire unit withina short time. “The thick cloudof smoke billowing from thefire was visible from severalkilometres away. Besides the

fire tenders of Panoli andneighbouring companies, fireteams from Ankleshwar andDisaster Prevention andManagement Centre werealso pressed into action,” a fireofficial said. “There was astock of isopropyl alcohol in theunit due to which the entireunit caught fire. It took severalhours to douse the fire. Later,we undertook salvagingactivities to cool down thestructure,” he added.

No casualties or injurieswere reported in the incidentas the employees had rushed

out in time.Earlier too, several big

fires have broken out in the

industrial estates of Bharuchdistrict, raising questions offire safety measures by units.

Yellow veil dims stars in75% of Ahmedabad sky

AHMEDABAD: At nightfall,the brilliance of stars isobscured by a sickly yellowcurtain of light pollution across75% of Ahmedabad’s sky.Streetlights, neon signs, andillumination of buildings castthe jaundiced pallor, blockingAmdavadis’ view of theglimmering canvas of thecosmos. A study led by IIT-Kharagpur; School of Planningand Architecture, Bhopal; andITM University, Gwalior, hasfocused on severe lightpollution. The study said thatover the airport andManinagar in Ahmedabad, thenighttime sky is even worse,assuming the flaming orangehue. Among 10 large cities

analyzed by the study,Ahmedabad stands sixth inlight pollution and Surat takesthe eighth spot. Above themlie New Delhi, Hyderabad,Bangalore, and Mumbai in thatorder.

In Ahmedabad, the skyturns yellowish in areas suchas Bodakdev, SatyagrahaSociety, Sarkhej, CorporateRoad, and Jodhpur Tekra. InBopal-Ghuma, the sky appearsgreyish. To spot stars, one willhave to travel 6km north fromSanand. Moving towardsNidhrad, Chandrasan, Dodar,Kanjari, Kunvar, Mankol,Vasan, Jetalpur, or Khoraj, onewill notice the sky clearing upand stars will become visible.

The study said that 45% ofthe city’s sky registers lightpollution in the range of 13-25 nano-watts per centimetresquare per steradian (nano-watts/cm2/sr). Another 40%records 25-50 nano-watts/cm2/sr. The sky over theairport and Maninagar has theworst reading, at 50-100nano-watts/cm2/sr.

The researchers are TanyaKaur Bedi (IIT-Kharagpur),Kshama Puntambekar (SPA,Bhopal), and Sonal Singh(ITM, Gwalior). They havecited a 2020 study of theUnited States EnvironmentalProtection Agency. The USstudy said that each kilowattof electric energy releases 1.3pounds of carbon dioxide gas,2gm of sulphur dioxide, and1.60gm of nitrogen dioxide gasinto the atmosphere.

“Very few studies areunderway in the field of lightpollution.” Bedi added: “In fact,light pollution has been risingespecially in New Delhi,Gujarat, West Bengal,Telangana, Tamil Nadu,Maharashtra, Karnataka, andUttar Pradesh from 2003 to2013.”

Alcohol worth Rs17 lakh seized

Ahmedabad : The Aadesarpolice seized Indian MadeForeign Liquor (IMFL) worthRs 17 lakh on Sunday. A hugestock of alcohol was stored inan underground cement tankwhich was speciallyconstructed for the purpose.Police raided the tank whichwas constructed in theoutskirts of Mewasa villageand seized 5,064 bottles ofvarious brands. The cops havebooked four accused — PunaBharvad, Hinda Bharvad,Govind Koli and RameshBharvad — under theProhibition Act.

Gujarat reports 42COVID-19 cases, no death

Ahmedabad : Gujarathas reported 42 fresh casesof COVID-19 on Sunday.The addition of the freshcases has taken Gujarat’stotal tally past 8.24 lakh. Nodeath was reported in thestate in the past 24 hours.The fresh fatality has takenGujarat’s COVID-19 relateddeath toll to 10,073.

Of the 42 fresh casesreported on Sunday, sevencases have been reportedfrom Ahmedabad, 13 caseshave been reported fromSurat, four cases have beenreported from Vadodara,and zero cases have beenreported from the statecapital Gandhinagar. Thisapart, four cases have beenreported from Rajkot,Bhavnagar reported twocases, Mehsana reportedzero cases, and 22 caseswere reported fromJamnagar. Meanwhile,Junagarh has reported onefresh case of the virus,whereas the tribal district ofPanchamahals has alsoreported no fresh case.Dahod has reported zerofresh cases, Amreli no cases,and Kheda reported zerofresh cases of the viralinfection. Bharuch reportedzero fresh COVID-19 cases,whereas Valsad and Anandhave each reported onefresh case. No death hasbeen reported from Patan.

With the addition ofthe fresh cases, the totalCOVID-19 case tally inAhmedabad has increased to2.38 lakh The total tally hasreached 1.43 lakh in Surat,78,440 in Vadodara, and20,493 in Gandhinagar.

According to thehealth department, there areover 931 active cases of the

virus in Gujarat. Of this, ninepatients are critical and havebeen put on ventilatorsupport. So far, 8.13 lakhpatients have been

discharged in the state afterbeing treated for the viralinfection. In fact, 262patients were discharged inthe past 24 hours.

Cops on wild goose chase forPI’s missing wife, no leads yet

Ahmedabad : The cops’decision to seek help from thepublic in tracing the missingwife of a police inspector isn’tyielding desired results.Though many goodSamaritans are comingforward to help, the inputsprovided by them are leadingthe police nowhere.

Sweety, wife of policeinspector Ajay Desai, has beenmissing for the last 37 days.Her mysterious disappearancehas baffled the cops as theinvestigations haven’trevealed any foul play. Fewdays back police distributedlook out notices with Sweety’sphotograph and other detailsat public places. Three daysago, a man from Patanclaimed to have given lift toSweety. He also informed thecops that an older man wasaccompanying her. “We sentour team to Patan to verify hisclaims. He had mistaken someother woman for Sweety,”Solanki added. The cops are

getting calls from citizens whobelieve they have informationabout Sweety but the leadsare resulting in cops beingsent on wild goose chase. “Wekeep getting tip-offs frompeople across the state. Someeven claimed to have seenher. But when we investigatetheir claims, it turns out to befalse,” said Kalpesh Solanki,deputy superintendent ofpolice (DySP) rural.

One of the first calls that

the cops got was fromAnand where the caller saidthat he had seen Sweety.

“Then a person fromAhmedabad made the sameclaims. We got a call evenfrom Mt Abu in Rajasthanas well as Modhera. Oncross verification the claimsturned out to be false,”Solanki, who is heading theinvestigations, told. Threedays ago, a man from Patanclaimed to have given lift toSweety. He also informedthe cops that an older manwas accompanying her. “Wesent our team to Patan toverify his claims. He hadmis taken some otherwoman for Sweety,” Solankiadded. Sweety had gonemissing from her home inKarjan on June 5. ThoughSweety ’ s brother hadapproached the cops a dayafter she went missing, thepo l i ce began ser iousinvestigations in the caseonly six days ago.

Sex racketeerwanted in Punefor four years

nabbed in Surat

SURAT: A man wanted byPune police in connection witha prostitution racket wasnabbed by Surat crime branchoutside a hotel in Ichhaporearea on Saturday.

Based on information,crime branch sleuths nabbedShiva Chaudhary, a resident ofVimannagar in Pune and anative of Nepal, who had beenhiding in Surat for the past 10days and was planning onstarting a similar racket in thecity. “The accused waswanted by Pune police inconnection with a big racketthat was busted in 2017.Accused would pimp womenfrom different countries intohis illegal business by postingadvertisements in differentwebsites,” a police officialsaid. He was handed over toPune police.

Pune police had bookedaccused under theMaharashtra Control ofOrganised Crime Act(MCOCA) and other sectionsof IPC at Yerwada policestation, but Chaudharymanaged to flee to Nepalwhere he spent two yearsbefore moving to Delhi andlater to Jaipur.

He was handed over toPune police.

Linde to support MSU withover Rs 3 crore for girls’ hostel

Ahmedabad : Support hasstarted pouring in for M SUniversity’s proposed projectof constructing a new hostelbuilding for girl students. LindeEngineering India PrivateLimited has given a letter ofintent to MSU to participate inthe building construction. Theuniversity is proposing toconstruct the ground plus 10floors-high building at thecurrent location of chiefwarden’s office, which is close

to the existing Halls ofResidence (girls campus). Thisbuilding will be probably thetallest that will come up on theuniversity campus. “Linde hasgiven us the letter of intent tocontribute in the project as partof its CSR activities. Thecontribution will be Rs 3.75crore for construction of threefloors,” MSU vice-chancellorprofessor Parimal Vyas said.The university has formed acommittee to draw out and

recommend a firm plan for theproject. “This is the highestever contribution that we willbe receiving from a firm fromits CSR funds,” he said. Thecommittee will also look intofeasibility of constructingadditional floors at the existingboys hostel campus of the Hallsof Residence. The allocation ofCSR fund for the project willbe contributed in one or twoyears after requisite approvalof the Linde’s Board.