4 Indians among 16 dead in Dubai building fire
Dubai (PTI): Four Indians, including a couple from Kerala, were among 16 people dead after a massive fire broke out in a residential building in Dubai that also injured nine others, officials said on Sunday.
The fire broke out on the fourth floor of the building in the Al-Ras area, one of the oldest parts of Dubai, and began spreading to other areas, they said.
Sixteen people died and nine others were seriously injured, officials said.
The Indian Consulate in Dubai confirmed that four Indians were among the victims.
"The Indian victims include Rijesh Kalangadan (38) and his wife Jeshi Kandamangalath (32). The others include Gudu Saliyakoondu (49) and Imamkasim Abdul Khader (43)," Bijender Singh, Consul, Consular and Labour, at the Indian Consulate, told PTI.
"We have received their passport copies through (Naseer) Vatanappally (an Indian social worker). We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the families and thank the social workers and others who have reached out with support. We are coordinating with the local authorities for the repatriation procedures," Singh added.
Quoting Naseer Vatanappally, who was at the Dubai Police mortuary, the Gulf News earlier reported that four Indians, including a couple from Kerala, have been identified among the victims.
Two men from Tamil Nadu who worked at the building, 3 Pakistani cousins and a Nigerian woman have also been identified.
The Dubai Civil Defence Operations Room was notified about the fire at 12.35 pm on Saturday, officials said.
A team from the Dubai Civil Defence headquarters arrived at the site of the blaze and began evacuating residents in the building.
Teams from the Port Saeed Fire Station and the Hamriyah Fire Station were also summoned.
The flames were doused by 2:42 pm (local time), the paper said.
Around 3pm, the civil defence team rescued the occupants on the third floor by cranes.
Eyewitnesses said they saw flames billowing out of the building, according to the Khaleej Times newspaper.
Videos shared on social media show thick black smoke and flames leaping out of an apartment window, the report said.
The Dubai Civil Defence has attributed the fire to the lack of compliance with building security and safety requirements.
The focus is now on identifying the remaining bodies, providing medical attention to the wounded, and rehabilitating survivors who find themselves locked out of the now-sealed building.
Authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation to provide a detailed report on the cause of the fire, the Dubai Civil Defence added.
Dubai in recent years has seen a surge of high-rise fires due to flammable siding material.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
