Residents of Manala village in Rajanna-Sircilla district staged a protest against alleged deforestation and land encroachment, accusing forest officials of colluding with unknown persons. The villagers claimed that thousands of acres of Eucalyptus plantations were cleared and borewells dug with official support.
Two teenage boys drowned when their tractor-trolley, laden with eucalyptus trees, fell into a water-filled ditch in the Bisalpur Kotwali area of Pilibhit district.