Toll in Hejamadi service road: Bus drivers resort to lightning protest
Padubidri, September 2: Drivers of service buses opposed the toll gate set up for the Hejamadi old MBC road and resorted to lightning protest for two hours obstructing the vehicular movement on the road here on Sunday.
Navayug Company has started collecting toll fee near Hejamadi Bastipadu stadium on national highway 66. In order to avoid the toll fee, majority of vehicles are plying on old MBC road. Knowing this, the company has again started to collect toll fee on service road near Hejamadi Guddeangadi. It started to collect the toll fee on Saturday. But on Sunday morning, all service bus drivers and other vehicles stopped their vehicles near toll gate suddenly and staged protest which lasts for more than two hours. This has caused inconvenience to the passengers.
Later, the police rushed to the spot and held discussions with the company to allow the service buses free for two days. It was also decided to hold discussion after two days.
Locals protest
Later, local residents gathered on the spot and opposed the toll fee collection on old BMC road. Without giving any prior information and preparation, the company has started collecting fee. This has caused inconvenience to the local residents. Without meeting the demands of the gram panchayat, the company has suddenly started collecting the fee which is not fair. The Deputy Commissioner would hold a meeting in the end of the month. Till then, the company should restrain from collecting fee, they demanded.
As the company started collecting fee at Hejamadi national highway, the number of vehicles plying on the service road has increased causing damage to the road and a bridge. So, it was a nice decision to construct toll plaza, opined others.
As the local buses, school buses and goods vehicles come to Hejamadi, the toll plaza would be a burden for them. So, those vehicles should be given relaxation from toll fee, demand some others.
Hejamadi service road is belonging to PWD and the Navayug company has no right to collect toll fee on that road, said agitators.
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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.
