BJP candidate dies of heart attack before casting vote in local polls in Ramban
Banihal/Jammu, Oct 10 : A BJP candidate died of heart attack Wednesday when he was about to cast his vote in the second phase of the municipal elections in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
Azad Singh Raju, 62, a former employee of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, died at a local polling station before casting his vote, they said.
He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Raju was among 24 candidates in the fray for the seven municipal bodies of Ramban district.
The second phase of the polling is in progress at 263 municipal wards spread across Jammu and Kashmir, including 214 wards, in six districts of Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban, Reasi, Udhampur and Kathua in Jammu region.
The polling started at 6 am and will end at 4 pm.
During the first two hours of the polling, the officials said Kathua district is leading the voter turnout chart with 17.2 per cent of 54,622 electorates exercising their democratic right.
It is followed by Reasi district which recorded a voter turnout of 16.6 per cent (10204 voters) followed by Kishtwar (15.3 per cent of 8830 voters), Doda (12.6 per cent of 13396 voters), Ramban (12.4 per cent of 5533 voters) and Udhampur (10.3 per cent of 35519 voters) till 8 am, the officials said.
Authorities have made elaborate security arrangements to ensure peaceful polling which will seal the fate of 1,029 candidates.
A total of 544 polling stations, including 274 in Jammu and 270 in Kashmir, have been set up and are being guarded by police and paramilitary forces.
"The polling in Jammu region is going on smoothly and there was no untoward poll-related violence reported from anywhere," the officials said.
The first phase of the polling was held on October 8 after a gap of 13 years and registered a voter turnout of 56.6 per cent.
The third phase of the polling is scheduled for October 13 followed by fourth and final phase on October 16. The counting of votes will be held on October 20.
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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.
