Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor, supporters detained in Patan
Ahmedabad, Oct 4 : Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor and others were detained by police in Gujarat's Patan district Thursday as they staged a protest demanding farm loan waiver and water for the farmers of his constituency, Radhanpur.
Earlier, speaking at a rally in Radhanpur town of the district, Thakor gave one week's time to the BJP government to declare his constituency as 'scarcity-hit'.
Radhanpur Assembly seat comprises tehsils of Radhanpur, Santalpur and Sami.
"We detained Thakor and 93 others including his supporters for holding protest on Radhanpur highway. All of them were released later," said Deputy Superintendent of Police R P Zala.
Thakor accused the BJP government of ignoring the plight of farmers in his constituency, claiming that though most parts of Patan had received scanty rain this time, these three tehsils were not declared as scarcity-hit.
"If these three tehsils are not declared as scarcity-hit in one week, farmers along with their kids and cattle will march towards Gandhinagar. I also demand waiver of farm loans, as the crops have failed due to scanty rains this season," said Thakor.
Following Thakor's warning, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that though several tehsils have been declared as scarcity-hit, the process of obtaining data from other areas is underway.
Later in the evening, Revenue Minister Kaushik Patel announced that Rupani had asked the administration to conduct a survey and find out which other tehsils need help such as drinking water and fodder for cattle.
"In one or two days we will prepare the list," said Patel.
Last month, the Gujarat government had declared 16 tehsils in Kutch, Banaskantha, Patan and Ahmedabad districts as 'scarcity hit' due to deficient rainfall.
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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.
