Himachal Pradesh: The Election Commission announced Wednesday that polling for the state legislature will be held on Nov. 4, The Hindustan Times reported. Ballots are scheduled to be counted by Dec.20.
Northeast: A medium-intensity earthquake, measured at 5.1 on the Richter scale, shook northeastern India on Wednesday morning, India Today reported. The epicenter was in the Sonitpur district of Assam, and tremors were experienced in Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. There were no reports of loss of life or property.
West Bengal: The state reported the highest number of suicides in India in 2011, according to a PTI report in The Deccan Herald, which cited National Crime Records Bureau data. Over all, 135,585 suicides were reported in India last year, up 25 percent from a decade earlier.
Uttar Pradesh: The state forest department and WWF-India are conducting a sur vey to determine the dolphin population in the Ganges River and its tributaries, Business Standard reported.
Rajasthan: The state cabinet on Wednesday approved draft legislation to protect women against accusations of witchcraft, IBNLive reported. Â The bill was prompted by a rising number of cases in which such women have been ostracized and subjected to harassment. The legislation, which will be submitted to the state assembly, proposes prison sentences in cases in which women commit suicide or are driven out of their homes.
Gujarat: Protests in Ahmedabad over the amateurish anti-Islam video “Innocence of Muslims†turned violent on Wednesday, India Today reported. Demonstrators set several vehicles on fire and shouted slogans against Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The police used tear gas and canes against the protesters; four police officers were injured.
Karnataka: Thousands of people demonstrated Wednesday against the Supreme Court's instruction to the state government to release water from the Cauvery River to Tamil Nadu, The New Indian Express reported. The protesters shouted slogans and burned an effigy of Tamil Nadu's chief minister, Jayalalithaa, at the Krishnaraja Sagar Reservoir.
