Karnataka: Dalit man in Dy.CM's constituency faces boycott, fine from villagers for entering temple
Koratagere: A dalit man along with his wife, son and daughter was boycotted from a village in Koratagere Taluk (sub-division), for entering Doddamma temple of Mallekavu village in the Taluk on May 20. The temple authorities have also slapped the dalit man with a fine of Rs 25,000 for cleansing the temple which they alleged was polluted by his entry.
The victim dalit man has been identified as Jagadish who has also filed a complaint with Koratagere Police against the temple authorities but no action has been taken against them as Jagadish continues to face the ruling of ban on entering the village.
Congress block president Somanna was also reportedly present in the meeting held by the villagers who decided to slap the fine and boycott on Jagadish. Interestingly, the constituency is represented by Congress senior leader and Karnataka Deputy CM Dr. G Parameshwara. The presence of Somanna who belongs to same party as DCM has called for a lot of flak in the political circles.
According to the report, Jagadish entered the temple on May 20, when the village was celebrating a fair which also had a grand procession and puja at the temple. When the villagers noticed Jagadish entering the temple with his family, they stopped him and hurled abuses at him followed by imposing the boycott and fine.
Speaking to media, Jagadish also added that he faces threat to his life as the villagers have threatened him of killing him and his family if he tries to enter the village.
The involvement of Congressman in insulting a Dalit in the constituency represented by Dy.CM and senior Congress leader has become talk of the town and has called for severe criticism.
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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.
