Gujarat

Ahmedabad, May 29 (PTI) The Gujarat government Wednesday approved implementation of 10 per cent EWS quota in admissions to professional and medical courses from this academic year, and addition of seats to accomodate the new reservation.

Gujarat thus became the first state in the country to implement the quota, said Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel.

The government approved creation of new seats for various professional courses during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar.

Surat, May 25 (PTI) The toll in the devastating fire that engulfed a commercial complex in Surat's Sarthana area has gone up to 22 with two more students succumbing to burn injuries, a senior police official said Saturday.

Surat police spokesperson and assistant commissioner of police P L Chaudhari on Saturday identified the two deceased students, both teenagers, as Karnavi Sitapara and Dhruvi Ribadiya.

Both were undergoing treatment in separate hospitals, he added.

19 teenage students have died on Friday in a coaching centre located in Takshashila Arcade in Sarthana area of Surat when part of the building caught fire.

Ahmedabad, May 21 (PTI) Anil Ambani's Reliance Group has decided to withdraw the Rs 5,000-crore civil defamation suits filed in an Ahmedabad court against Congress leaders and National Herald newspaper over their statements and an article on the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal.

The suits were being heard in the court of city civil and sessions judge P J Tamakuwala.

"We have intimated the defendants that we are going to withdraw the suits against them," the complainant's lawyer, Rasesh Parikh, told PTI on Tuesday.

Ahmedabad, May 21 (PTI) A special screening of the biopic 'PM Narendra Modi' was held on Tuesday at PVR Acropolis here with Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in attendance.

The film, which did the rounds of the courts and poll authorities for a release date, was postponed earlier by the Election Commission in view of the Lok Sabha polls.

The Omung Kumar-directed film, in which actor Vivek Oberoi is playing the eponymous role, is now scheduled for a May 24 release.

Bhuj (Guj), May 20 (PTI) Two Pakistani nationals were apprehended on Monday by the Border Security Force (BSF) and their boat seized from the Sir Creek area in Gujarat's Kutch district, an official said.

He said a probe has begun in the vicinity to find out more details about the two Pakistani nationals, he added.

In an incident that happened earlier this month, a group of fishermen from the neighbouring country had managed to flee when confronted by BSF personnel in the Sir Creek area.

Their boat was, however, seized by the border guarding force at the time.

Ahmedabad, May 14 (PTI) The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has begun a drive to impound stray cattle after two people were killed by the bovines in the past few days.

The drive, which started on Monday, saw a clash between civic officials and cattle owners in the city's Odhav area, officials said.

"The AMC has launched a stray cattle impounding drive as they cause traffic problems and there have been incidents of people being gored to death," said AMC Commissioner Vijay Nehra Tuesday.

Ahmedabad, May 12 (PTI) The wedding procession of a Dalit bridegroom at a village in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat had to be provided police cover Sunday after members of the Thakor community objected to him offering prayers at a local temple.

The procession, however, passed off peacefully, police said.

Ahmedabad, May 11 (PTI) A 60-year-old man died after being attacked by a cow on Friday night in Vinoba Bhave Nagar in Vinzol locality here, police said.

A Vatva MIDC police station official said deceased Gopinath Tiwari and his family were having sugarcane juice from a stall at around 9:30pm when the cow charged at him.

Ahmedabad, May 7 (PTI) Eight lions from Gujarat will soon be shifted to a zoo in Uttar Pradesh as part of an animal exchange programme, a forest official said on Tuesday.

These lions are currently lodged at the Sakkarbaug zoo at Junagadh in Gujarat.

"As part of the animal exchange programme, two lions and six lionesses from Sakkarbaug will be shifted to a zoo at Gorakhpur in UP. The Central Zoo Authority has allowed the transfer of eight big cats," Junagadh wildlife circle's chief conservator of forests Dushyant Vasavada said.