Two Indians receive Magsaysay awards
Manila, Aug 31 : Two Indian nationals, Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk, on Friday were given the Ramon Magsaysay award, popularly known as Asia's Nobel Prize.
At a ceremony in Manila, Cambodian activist Youk Chhang, Filipino Howard Dee, Vietnam's Vo Thi Hoang Yen and East Timore's Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz were also honored for their work.
"All are unafraid to take on large causes. All have refused to give up despite meagre resources, daunting adversity and strong opposition," Carmencita Abella, president of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said, Efe reported.
Vatwani has dedicated his life for rescuing mentally ill people from the streets of India - who number around 400,000 according to estimates - and providing them with shelter and treatment through his Shraddha Rehabilitaion Foundation.
Since 1988, Vatwani has helped around 7,000 mental patients, reuniting many of them with their families.
Wangchuk has been recognised for "his uniquely systematic, collaborative and community-driven reform of learning systems in remote northern India, thus improving the life opportunities of Ladakhi youth, and his constructive engagement of all sectors in local society to harness science and culture creatively for economic progress, thus setting an example for minority peoples in the world".
Chhang survived the large-scale violence and oppression of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia and returned to his country after living in exile to head the Documentation Center, which has gathered evidence about the regime's crimes against humanity.
The institution has collected and digitized around a million documents since 1995 from around 23,000 forced-labour camps, where around two million people were killed, and recorded the testimonies of around 10,000 victims and aggressors.
Dee, the former Philippine ambassador to the Vatican and Malta, as well as a former negotiator with the communist rebels, was honoured for working for peace through sustainable development and poverty reduction in areas affected by armed conflict.
Dee founded the Assisi Development Foundation in 1975 along with Jesuit priest Francisco Araneta and the organization has carried out more than 4,100 projects benefiting around 10.5 million Filipinos.
Martins Cruz established the Secular Institute of Brothers and Sisters in Christ, which takes care of the poorest sections of the society in East Timor with projects in health, education and agriculture, while Vietnam's Vo Thi Hoang Yen has dedicated herself to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
