Ghaziabad, Oct 1 : Thousands of farmers from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are set to reach Rajghat in Delhi to press the central government to concede their demands, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said on Monday.

The BKU-led 'Kranti Yatra', which started from Haridwar in Uttarakhand, has reached Ghaziabad and farmer leader Naresh Tikait said the farmers were determined to enter Delhi.

Earlier, the farmers were to spend Monday night in Ghaziabad for which the district administration had made arrangements at the Kamla Nehru Nagar ground.

In view of the heavy inflow of farmers, the administration has diverted public transport on National Highway 58.

The farmers spent Sunday night in Murad Nagar near the upper Ganga canal.

Tikait told reporters that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) grabbed power in 2014 by misleading farmers that their income would be doubled. Believing the party, the farmers voted for them.

"But after grabbing power in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has forgotten its promises. So we have come to remind them their promises," he said.

A memorandum to be submitted to the Centre includes 21 demands including implementation of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission report, waiver of farm loan, free electricity to farmers and allowing power connections to farmers to run tube wells.

Tikait said the farmers plan to reach Rajghat on Monday night or Tuesday morning "where we will pay tributes to Chaudhary Charan Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Babu Jagjivan Ram.

"Over one lakh farmers are expected to reach Rajghat although Delhi Police have sealed all entry points... We appeal to the government not to deprive us of our basic fundamental rights to pay tributes to our leaders."

Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said security arrangements had been tightened and nine companies of paramilitary forces had been deployed in Ghaziabad.



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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.