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.

Hepatitis-B toll touches 56 n 7 more die on monday

Hepatitis-B killed three more people in Modasa on Monday, a day on which the Gujarat government vaccinated 50,000 residents of the taluka in 10 hours, in what could be one of India's largest medical mop-ups. The toll from the outbreak has now touched 56, although officials assert that the figure is 45. Two of Monday's casualties are women, identified Kapila Patel (30) and Harshida Rathod (21). 

The mass-vaccination drive is being carried out in the Modasa taluka and surrounding villages of the Sabarkantha district by 225 teams of health officials and NGO volunteers. 

Modi government is gearing up to fight Hepatitis-B outbreak which has claimed 37 lives according to official number. However the State Congress spokesman and the former leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Arjun Modhvadia, claimed that the epidemic has taken life of not less than 60 people in Modasa alone.

Government has planned to vaccinate all people in Modasa in 62 booths by 2000 health department employees. Government has also ordered all the hotels and restaurants in Modasa town in Sabarkantha district in north Gujarat to be closed. Various team of experts visited the affected area.