NAGPUR: The untimely rains that brought relief to several parts of Vidarbha on Wednesday proved to be a bane for seven people of a family in Katol. All seven of them were burnt alive in the thatched house after lightning, which accompanied the rains, caused a short circuit, triggering sparks and the subsequent fire reducing the house to ashes. Sources say Ramesh Raut (40) lived in Godi Mohagaon village in Katol with his wife Kalawati (35) and three children Praful (15), Prashant (13) and Pradeep (11). On Wednesday night, Ramesh’s brother Haridas (32) and his daughter Durga (8) had come to visit. The fire is believed to have started at 2 am on early Thursday and by the time Rauts’ neighbours could realise, the house was engulfed in flames. Even the rains could not stop the fire and it burnt the entire house to mere cinders killing all seven. By then, the neighbours became active and while some were busy trying to douse the fire or contain it so that it does not spreads to other nearby thatched houses, others called in the local police. The cops arrived to the sight of charred remains in the area. Sources say that Raut and Kalawati were daily wagers and lived in the area for quite some time. Haridas, a resident of Zilpa village, had come to his brother’s house on Monday with his daughter probably to attend an invitation. Haridas’ wife and other daughter, who stayed back in Zilpa, were in a state of shock after hearing the news, sources say. The police are investigating and chances of foul play have been primarily ruled out. Incidentally, all four goats that the Rauts owned also perished in the fire.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in
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