The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is going to undertake highway development projects worth Rs16,219 crore in Gujarat, which are scheduled to be completed by 2015, its general manager VK Sharma said on Thursday.

The authority has already awarded work for east-west corridor in the state, which is having total length of 570.6km and an estimated cost of Rs2,291.68 crore. Similarly, work for the stretch from 108.7 km to 263 km on NH-8 (Vadodara to Surat), having a total length of 143 km has been awarded with an estimated cost of Rs975 crore. The stretch from 263 km to 381 km on NH8 (Surat-Dahisar) has also been awarded on revenue sharing basis of with an estimated cost of Rs1,694 crore.

They say body samples of Jaitun be sent to a certified lab, also approach CP

Seeking answers to the cause behind Jaitun Darbar's death, the members of the Darbar family have demanded that blood, body and viscera samples of the deceased be checked at a certified laboratory.

Jaitun Darbar, mother of noted music director Ismail Darbar, had died on February 12 while undergoing treatment at Girish Group of Hospitals.

Darbar was admitted for more than three weeks and even sustained burns due to doctors' negligence during her treatment. Family members had blamed the hospital for Darbar's death and even lodged a complaint at Athwa police station

The theft occurred when Pakwan hotel owner and family had gone to Rajasthan

Criminals burgled the house of a hotelier in Paldi and took away cash and jewellery worth over Rs9 lakh. The burglary took place in the house of Roop Singh Purohit, a resident of Taxshila society, Narayan Nagar under Ellisbridge police station.

DCP Zone I Brijesh Kumar Jha said, "This is the second such incident in Paldi in last few years in which the burglars have looted such big amount. The Ellisbridge police have lodged a case for house breaking and theft in this connection" In many earlier incidents in Paldi, sources said, burglars have looted property worth less than Rs2 lakh.

In their frantic investigations into the hepatitis-B outbreak, Sabarkantha officials have seized a cache of used syringes, needles and IV sets from a Modasa scrap shop that could provide clues about the spread of the virus.

The medical supplies were found, on Wednesday, during a raid on Shabnam Scrap Centre, in Bhangar Gali. “How the items reached a scrap shop is still a mystery. But the culprit will be found and punished,” said the assistant commissioner of food and drug department, KG Nogia. 

No hepatitis-B death was reported in Modasa on Wednesday. 

Significant increase in acreage and good rainfall led to higher production

Gujarat is set to increase it share in castor production in the country. With a significant increase in area under cultivation, state's share is expected to be around 75% during 2008-09 against 71.5% in the previous year.

As per castor crop survey-2008-09, conducted by Solvent Extractors Association (SEA), Banaskantha district is the largest producer of the commodity and total output in the district this year is estimated to be around 2.05 lakh tonnes.

Two people were killed and one sustained serious injuries when portions of a wall of an underground sewage collapsed in Danilimda on Tuesday evening. The deceased have been identified as Viru Singh Rukma, (22), and Uday Bhai, both belonging to Rajasthan.

Sources said the incident occurred close to Danilimda police station where construction of an underground sewage was going on. Labourers were digging pit when a portion of the sewage wall collapsed, killing two labourers. Another worker, Tola Ram, sustained critical injuries.