India-US military exercise begins in Uttarakhand
New Delhi, Sep 16 : India and US armies on Sunday began a two-week joint military exercise in Uttarakhand to hone their tactical and technical skills in countering insurgency and terrorism in a United Nation peacekeeping scenario, said officials.
They said that battalion-strong Army personnel from the US and an equal number from India are participating in 'Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2018' at Chaubattia in Almora district.
"State-of-the-art equipment for surveillance and tracking, specialist weapons for close- quarter battle with terrorists, explosive and improvised explosive device detectors, as well as the latest communication equipment are being fielded by both sides," a Defence Ministry statement said.
The two armies will jointly train, plan and execute a series of tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats that may be encountered in UN peacekeeping operations during division-level command post exercise, said the statement.
"The experts from both sides will discuss and share each other's experience in varied topics for mutual benefit."
The exercise commenced with the unfurling of the national flags of both the countries to the strains of their respective national anthems 'Jana Gana Mana' and 'The Star Spangled Banner'.
The US contingent was represented by 1st Infantry Battalion and 23 Infantry Regiment, while the Indian side is represented by an Infantry Battalion.
"General Officer Commanding, 6 Mountain Division, welcomed the US soldiers in his inaugural remarks and highlighted the shared beliefs in democracy, freedom, equality and justice," added the statement.
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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.
