Goa CM announces inquiry into temple stampede, says report will be made public
Panaji (PTI): Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that an inquiry will be conducted into the temple stampede in North Goa, in which six people lost their lives in the wee hours of the day, and said the probe report will be made public.
Sawant visited the stampede site at Sree Lairai Devi Temple in Shirgao village hours after the incident.
Six people were killed, and several others sustained injuries after a stampede broke out during the annual festival at the temple around 3:00 am.
Talking to reporters at the site, Sawant said, "I have asked for a detailed inquiry into the incident. We will make the report public."
He said precautions would be taken in the future for all temple festivals in the state to prevent such incidents.
Sawant said he visited North Goa District Hospital in Mapusa town in the early morning after he found out about the stampede.
Earlier in the day, Sawant tweeted that he had received a call from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who offered his full support.
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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.
