48 hours – three tragedies
In just a matter of 48 hours, three tragedies struck the state of Karnataka. Even before the state could come to terms with 30 people meeting their watery grave in Mandya after a bus fell into the canal on Saturday morning, the ‘Man of Mandya’ actor-turned politician Ambarish breathed his last on the very night. And even before his final rites are done, former union minister and senior Congress leader Jaffer Sharief has died.
The bus tragedy in Mandya is a result of human greed and selfishness. It should be called a self-created massacre, more than the tragedy. Because the bus that should have been in scarp yard was being run on the road, illegally by the greedy owners. Our Road Transport department, especially the corrupt officers who sit in cushy places in the department are responsible for the death of 30 people. The driver and conductor too are responsible as much. They were aware of the condition of the bus and yet they packed the vehicle with passengers. This crime is not small by any measure. This tragedy has exposed the state government’s responsibility in ensuring such incidents should never repeat.
Steps to clean up the RTO offices across the state and rid them off the middlemen should begin at the earliest. The transportation department had decided on installing CCTV cameras in all its offices some time ago. But that was never implemented. And the reason for this is more than evident. This goes to prove the middlemen mafia that is controlling the department. Chief Minister Kumaraswamy has wept in the open over the tragedy but these tears do not get the aggrieved any justice. The officers who aided the running of the bus that was to be junked, have to be found out and punished. Along with this, every office that has close links with the RTO needs to be controlled and kept under surveillance. The middlemen have to be eradicated. This way the tribute to those who lost their lives would be more meaningful.
Following this bus tragedy was the passing away of actor-turned-politician Ambarish. He had taken ill even when he was the minister. He had availed treatment abroad during his last bout. He died rather young. But his tryst with alcohol had pushed him closer to the alleys death. As an artist, Ambarish is unparalleled. And he could have achieved this feat even as a politician. But his lifestyle blocked this possibility. Ambarish had a very different personality in cinema industry.
He stood apart with his ‘rebel’ image at a time when Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan ruled the roost. His film ‘Anta’ gave a new direction to Kannada film industry. Ranganayaki, Paduvaralli Pandavaru, Elu Suttina Kote and other films were loved by everyone and they left a very impressionable remark on general public. His ability to help people even at his own peril had earned him the name ‘Karna’. Though he was a superstar, he lived among people. Hence he was able to make that transition from cinema to politics.
Whatever he had achieved through his cinema, he could not tread that far in politics. Caste based politics had hurt his sensibilities. Though he took to streets for Cauvery issue, he slowly retreated into the background later. He began to hold his caste against his own accomplishments in Congress. He almost got down to blackmailing and turned into a very tricky issue for Congress that they couldn’t discard or accept within the party.
He could have used the political opportunity to carry the messages from farmers to the higher-ups in Delhi. If he had taken to streets for the sake of our farmers, he could have been another MGR. But he lost an opportunity owing to his indiscipline and callousness. The industry respected Ambarish quite a bit after the death of Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan. He worked like a Supreme court whenever issues cropped up within the film industry. Now the industry is almost orphaned with no big names to lead them.
Jaffer Sharief is a statesman that the state saw. He died just few hours apart Ambarish’s death. He wasn’t too active in politics in the recent times. We need to look at his contribution in 70s-80s than judging him for whatever didn’t take place in our lifetime. As railway minister, his contribution to Karnataka is massive. He is remembered in gauge conversion, engine and wheels factory set up in Bengaluru. If the caste politics within congress had not affected him, he’d have been a chief minister of the state during his lifetime.
Eventually Sharief was sidelined for reasons known to his supporters and followers. He lived as a testimony between statesmen and good politics. Today there are enough and more allegations that Muslims do not want to allow statesmen-like persona within their own community. Hence, there is not a single person within Congress to make him the CM of the state. This is not an accident. That’s the major takeaway from Jaffer Sharief’s death.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
