35 boats destroyed in fire at Visakhapatnam jetty area
Visakhapatnam (PTI): A fire broke out in a jetty area here in the early hours of Monday in which at least 35 fishing boats were gutted, officials said.
The cause of the blaze, which broke out in the wee hours and was doused by around 4 am, is yet to be ascertained, according to officials, who said the fire started in a boat in the zero jetty area and spread quickly.
The fire broke out in an area near the Visakhapatnam Container Terminal and an Indian Oil Corporation facility where fishing boats were anchored.
After receiving information about the accident, firefighters rushed to the spot, Visakhapatnam District Fire Officer S Renukayya told PTI.
"We pressed 12 fire tenders into service and sought the help of the National Disaster Response Force and the Visakhapatnam Port Trust," he said.
The official said there were no reports of any casualties so far.
According to Renukayya, the firefighters managed to control the fire from spreading to other boats in the vicinity within half an hour.
It took almost two hours to douse the fire, he added.
Visakhapatnam Deputy Commissioner of Police-Zone II K Ananda Reddy said the intervening night of Sunday and Monday was quite windy, causing the fire to spread quickly among the boats made of fibre (plastic) and anchored closely.
"Many of these boats also carry up to 5,000 litres of diesel as the fishermen venture into the sea for weeks. Many boats were also laden with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders which the fisherfolk use for cooking," Reddy added.
There were as many as eight explosions which officials suspect to be that of LPG cylinders.
Considering the critical location of the fire, Reddy said Vizag Steel Plant fire brigade and the Navy were also alerted, while controlling the fire without further spread proved to be a big task.
According to estimates, each boat is valued between Rs 35 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, he said.
Meanwhile, police booked a case of accidental fire, he added.
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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.
