Fraudsters promised vaccines that never came; toll mounts as experts look for main source of virus 

The hepatitis-B epidemic in Modasa has not only taken lives of many but also given rise to frauds.

Promising hepatitis-B virus vaccination at reasonable prices, some fraudsters have taken Rs17,000 from residents of Varthu village near Modasa. 

Tempted by the pricing at Rs12 a vaccination, (otherwise Rs50), about 1,500 residents in Varthu village, gave away money and never found self proclaimed doctors visiting the village again. 

Residents of Varthu village are scared as four people have died by now. Villagers say, this is for the first time that they have seen people dying due to a disease at such a large scale.

He might be better known as a saint or Kabir of Kutch who with his simple messages in in Kutchi, Gujarati and Hindi imparts spirituality to the downtrodden.

But Mekan Dada's real work had been to save those who lost their way in the Rann of Kutch with the help of his dog, Motia, and his donkey, Lalia.

He is often now remembered as St Christopher of Kutch. His 375-year-old shrine at Dharang village on the edge of the Rann hosts an annual fair every year on Shivratri.

Ahmedabad, Feb 24 : The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday issued notice to state minister Maya Kodnani on an application filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seeking cancellation of her anticipatory bail.

The Court has also issued notice to Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Jaideep Patel and asked the two to explain the reason for not admitting a petition and fixing the hearing for March 2.

The petition has come up before Justice D. H. Waghela as earlier Justice A. S. Dave had refused to take up the case.

Kodnani is accused in Naroda Patiya and Naorda Gam case, while Patel is accused in the Naroda Gam case.

City traffic cops' awareness drive is bearing fruits. Since the Ahmedabad traffic department started classes on road safety in December 2008, the number of cases of road accidents involving minors has come down drastically from 30 in December to nine in January. The department had organised 3,200 lectures on traffic rules in December, followed by 3,500 the next month. Students, teachers and parents of those kids who had violated traffic norms participated in the special classes.

The department believes that the awareness classes played an important role in the decrease of accident cases. Traffic department officials told DNA that the minors were booked for rash driving, triple ridding and driving without proper documents.

Following the seizure of cigarettes last Friday, an investigating team, under the supervision of Arvind Kumar, assistant commissioner, customs, Ahmedabad, on Monday afternoon raided flat number 104 of Animesh Apartment at CG road which houses the office of ACX International Courier Pvt Ltd, owned by one Sunil Patel. The team also raided house number-412, Sukh Sagar Complex, near Fortune Landmark belonging to Mumbai- based Alex David, owner of Amigo Logistic India Pvt Ltd.

Modasa (Gujarat), Feb 24: More and more people are turning up for a vaccination drive launched in Modasa town of Gujarat after an outbreak of Hepatitis-B.

The dreaded disease has claimed close to 43 lives within a fortnight in Sabarkantha district.

Doctors said people of all age groups were being vaccinated against the disease.