Eid finally arrives in Naroda Patia, 10 years late

September 1, 2012

Eid-finally

Ahmedabad, September 1: There was Eid-like euphoria in the 1,000-odd houses of Naroda Patia which bore the brunt of mayhem in the 2002 post-Godhra riots. Heavy rain in Ahmedabad on Friday did not dampen the spirits.

"It was a late Eid — one after 10 years. I haven't seen so many smiling faces in Naroda Patia over the past decade, which we spent praying for this day," said Dilawar Saiyad, 74, one of the prime witnesses in the case against BJP MLA Maya Kodnani. "I had lost faith in everything, but the judgment has proved that not all is bad in my India."

As the 32 convicts in the Naroda Patia massacre were awarded punishment, the families of victims and witnesses breathed a sigh of relief. Even those who had moved out of the locality for a day fearing a backlash returned home in the evening to join their society members. With securitymen dotting all lanes of Naroda Patia, residents checked their jubilation and shared the joy of their victory in small groups. The most elated were the survivors and witnesses who for the past four years had stood behind the case despite all odds.

"I was offered lakhs of rupees to change my statement and was also threatened," said Harun Sheikh, a rickshaw driver. "I had lost 10 people in my family, including my son and wife. I didn't want their lives to go waste and fought for justice. Today, I feel they would be happy with our victory too."

But as Patia remained alive, the mood was sombre in Hindu neighbourhoods of Kubernagar (Kodnani's home turf), Chharanagar, Meghaninagar and parts of Naroda, home to most of the convicts. Security arrangements remained tight as many shopkeepers voluntary observed bandh to protest the verdict. Tension even prevailed in the Mahajanvas area near Naroda Patia.

At Patia, the most excited of all witnesses was 29-year-old Shakila Bano, a tailor. "I have lived most of my life hidden inside the veil which I threw away in 2008 and pulled up my socks to nail the culprits. Today, I feel the happiest... I feel like flying."


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News Network
May 18,2020

As many as employees of Zee News have tested positive for the coronavirus, Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary said on Monday. Most of them are asymptomatic, he said, tweeting an official statement from Zee News about the situation.

The organisation said that on May 15, one of its employees tested positive for the coronavirus. Following this, the company started testing employees who may have come in contact with the employee. Twenty-seven more were found to be infected.

“Fortunately most of them are asymptomatic and are not complaining of any discomfort,” Zee News said. “We believe this is because of early diagnosis and proactive intervention.”

The news network said all guidelines and protocols have been followed, and its office, newsroom and studios have been sealed for sanitisation. The Zee News team has been shifted to an alternative facility.

“At the moment, Zee Media Corporation has 2,500 employees, by far the largest in the private sector,” the company said. “We are committed to the safety of each one of them.”

Chaudhary also claimed that “those who are infected had the option of sitting at home and sharing memes”. “They came to work because they are committed professionals.”

Following this, some social media users claimed that Zee News employees found infected with Covid-19 were still at work. In response, Chaudhary alleged that a malicious campaign was being conducted to distort his statement. He said no infected employee had come to work, and all the contacts of the employee who tested positive on May 15 had been tested and quarantined.

Over the past two months, journalists from several media organisations have tested positive for the coronavirus. On April 21, 26 employees of a Tamil news channel based in Chennai tested positive for the coronavirus. The previous day, over 50 journalists from Mumbai were found infected, after samples of over 170 journalists were tested.

On May 7, a newspaper journalist died of the coronavirus in Agra. Some states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Delhi, have tested journalists for Covid-19.

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News Network
June 23,2020

New Delhi, Jun 23: The meeting between Indian Army's 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh and his Chinese counterpart got over after around 11 hours, sources said.

"Today's meeting between the Corps Commander-level officers of India and China is over. The meeting which started at 11:30 am went on for around 11 hours. More details awaited," sources said.

The meeting started at around 11:30 am at Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) opposite Chushul to defuse the tensions in Eastern Ladakh sector due to Chinese military build-up, the sources said.

This is the second meeting between the two corps commanders. They had met on June 6 and had agreed to disengage at multiple locations. India had asked the Chinese side to go back to pre-May 4 military positions along the LAC.

The Chinese side had not given any response to the Indian proposal and not even shown intent on the ground to withdraw troops from rear positions where they have amassed over 10,000 troops.

India is also likely to discuss the change in rules of engagement on the LAC where the forces have been empowered to use firearms in extraordinary circumstances, sources had said.

They said India will also ask China to honour the commitment given during June 6 talks to disengage in the Galwan valley completely and other places.

The build-up of Chinese air assets including strategic bombers by the PLA Air Force in fields near Indian territory close to Ladakh is also likely to figure in discussions.

India and China have been involved in talks to ease the ongoing border tensions since last month.

However, last week as many as 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in the face-off in the Galwan Valley after an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh.

The Indian intercepts have revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in the violent clash.

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News Network
January 22,2020

New Delhi, Jan 22: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has assets worth Rs 3.4 crore, an increase of Rs 1.3 crore from 2015, according to his election affidavit.

Kejriwal's total assets were worth Rs 2.1 crore in 2015.

The cash and fixed deposits of Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal increased from Rs 15 lakh in 2015 to Rs 57 lakh in 2020.

A party functionary said Rs 32 lakh worth cash and fixed deposits have been received by Sunita Kejriwal as voluntary retirement benefits while the rest are savings.

The cash and fixed deposits of the chief minister increased from Rs 2.26 lakh in 2015 to Rs 9.65 lakh in 2020.

There was no change in the value of immovable assets of his wife while Kejriwal's immovable assets' worth increased from Rs 92 lakh to Rs 177 lakh.

The party functionaries said increase in Kejriwal's immovable assets' worth is due to the increased valuation of the same asset as in 2015.

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