9 dead, 51 injured as bus falls into river in Himachal
Nahan (HP), Nov 25: At least nine people were killed and 51 injured when a speeding bus they were travelling in fell from a bridge into a river in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district on Saturday, police said.
The accident took place near Khadri village on the Renuka-Dadahu-Nahan road, about 168 km south of Shimla, at around 4.30 pm. The private bus was on its way from Renukaji to Nahan when the driver lost control, broke the railing of the Jalal bridge and fell 40-feet down into the Jalal river, said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Virender Singh Thakur.
Four passengers, including three women, died on the spot, while five critically-injured persons succumbed to their injuries in a hospital. Fifty-one people are under treatment in the Nahan medical college and Dadahu sub-divisional hospital, the ASP told PTI.
Thakur, who reached the spot and supervised the rescue operation, said prima facie the accident happened due to the negligence of the bus driver. According to eyewitnesses, the bus was overspeeding when it was crossing the bridge.
The process is on to identify the deceased, most of whom are local residents, the officer said, adding that the police had started an investigation.
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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.
