GP by-poll: Irvathur goes to Cong, Amtadi to BJP
Bantwal, June 17: Both Congress and BJP-backed candidates have won one gram panchayat seat each in a by-election held two gram panchayat seats in the taluk.
The election was held for one seat each in Irvattur and Amtadi gram panchayats on Thursday and counting of votes was held today.
Congress-backed candidate Sudhindra Shetty won the Irvathur seat and BJP-backed candidate Surendra Poojary won the Amtadi seat. The counting of votes of both the seats was held at the Mini Vidhana Soudha on BC Road under the guidance of tahsildar Y Ravi and election staff.
Amtadi seat was vacant due to the death of its member Chandravati B Bhandari and election was held at SVS Temple school at Bantwal. Chandravati was backed by CPI, but committed suicide a few days ago. Two candidates contested in the seat. Surendra Poojary won the seats with 332 votes, while his opponent Babu Bhandari, husband of Chandravati, backed by CPI got 315 votes.
In Irvattur gram panchayat, the election was held for Mudupadukodi-1 seat. Congress-backed candidate Sudheendra Shetty got 391 votes against his opponent BJP backed candidate Janardhan Shetty who got 302 seats. As the previous gram panchayat member Sundar Shetty was absent from the gram panchayat meetings continuously, he was disqualified.
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25 killed, 6 injured in fire at nightclub in Goa
Panaji (PTI): At least 25 persons were killed and six others suffered injuries in a massive fire that erupted at a nightclub in North Goa after midnight on Sunday, police said.
While the police earlier said 23 persons died in the fire, they later confirmed two more deaths.
The fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora in North Goa has claimed 25 lives, a police spokesperson said.
The deceased included four tourists and 14 staff members, while the identity of the remaining seven was yet to be established, he said.
Six persons suffered injuries in the blaze and they are currently undergoing treatment at the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, near here, the official said.
The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, he said.
"The police and fire department are conducting the investigation and legal action is being taken," the official said.
As per initial information, the nightclub had not abided by the fire safety norms, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said.
The nightclub, a popular party venue at Arpora village, located around 25 km from the state capital Panaji, opened last year.
“We will take action against the club management and also against the officials who allowed it to operate despite flouting safety norms,” Sawant said.
“This is an unfortunate incident during the peak tourist season in the coastal state,” Sawant said. “We will conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and stringent action will be taken against the guilty,” he added.
