13 die due to dust storm in UP on Wednesday
Lucknow: At least 13 people have lost their lives in Uttar Pradesh in a thunderstorm on Wednesday, the office of the state relief commissioner said.
Siddhartha Nagar bore the maximum onslaught with four deaths reported from the district, followed by Deoria where three people died and Ballia where two died, state Relief Commissioner G S Priyadarshi told PTI on Friday.
One person was injured, while 22 animals have also died. As many as 93 houses have been damaged across the state, the official said. The official added that one death each was reported from Ayodhya (snake bite), Lakhimpur Khiri, Kushinagar and Sonbhadra.
Meanwhile, the meteorological department said rain or thunderstorm was very likely at few places over eastern Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.
Rain/thunderstorm is very likely at isolated places over western Uttar Pradesh on Saturday and at a few places over western Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.
On June 7, severe dust storm and lightning in the state claimed 26 lives and left over 50 injured as houses and walls collapsed and trees were uprooted.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
