The Goa government called off a customary Carnival after six persons including four children were killed when a school bus plunged into the river at Aldona village near Panaji.

The parades in Margao, Ponda, Vasco and Mapusa were also to be cancelled. The carnival is celebrated to commemorate the legendary King Momo and is held for three days and nights.

Preparations were made for the gala event at which an average 30,000 revellers, both locals and tourists, participate each year.

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A survey on the worldwide cost of living by the Economist Intelligence Unit, named Mumbai as the second least expensive city globally. Delhi is ranked fourth.

Karachi is ranked as the cheapest destination globally while Zurich is the most expensive place in the world.

India's headline inflation fell from 7.47 to 6.55 in January 2012, however finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said the rate of price rise is still unacceptable and hopes for a further dip.

The three other cheapest locations globally are Karachi, Tehran and Delhi. All the four cheapest cities have retained their positions from the previous year's list. Others cities following included Muscat, Dhaka, Algiers, Kathmandu, Panama City and Jeddah.

The survey compared over 400 individual prices across 160 products and services.

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In an airport service quality survey conducted by the Airport Council International (ACI), the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai has been ranked third best performing airport of 2011.

Delhi was ranked first in India and second best globally. Mumbai ranks third best globally and is second best in India in the 25-40 million passengers a year category.

ACI is an autonomous and independent body and measured customer feedback on a range of service delivery parameters. The survey was conducted at 180 airports worldwide.

Analysis of this data serves as a guide for better aligning service provision with customer expectations. The Mumbai airport catered to 29.10 million passengers between April 2010 and March 2011.

Managing Director of the Mumbai International Airports Pvt Ltd. G V Sanjay Reddy stated the findings are a "reaffirmation of their vision to transform the Mumbai airport into one of the best in the world".

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the richest civic body in India, saw a dismal 45 percent of voter turnout.

BMC Commissioner Subodh Kumar confirmed the figure but took heart saying the number was up by three percent, from the 2007 elections, a sign that registered voters are more aware as the population has not increased.

Apart from Mumbai nine other municipal corporations also went to the polls with a total electorate of 3.5 crore people.

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The Gujarat High Court has served the Narendra Modi government with a contempt notice for not obeying its order to compensate people whose shops were burned down in the post-Godhra riots.

The notice came a week after the court indicted the state government for non-restoration of religious places destroyed in the communal riots.

In a scathing indictment of the Modi government the High Court had in February termed the 2002 riots "negligence of the State" and censured it for inaction.

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