CPI (M) raises Silkyara tunnel incident in Rajya Sabha, demands fair inquiry
New Delhi (PTI): CPI (M) Member of Parliament P V Sivadasan in Rajya Sabha on Monday raised the issue of collapse of Uttrakhand's Silkyara tunnel and demanded an inquiry into the incident alleging that safety measures were not implemented by the company concerned.
A part of the Uttarkashi tunnel -- around 200 metres from the entrance -- had collapsed on November 12 trapping 41 workers.
A rescue team pulled out all trapped workers on November 28 in a multi-agency operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, Sivadasan termed the incident very painful and accused the tunnelling company of violating all security measures, rules and norms.
"...transparent and fair inquiry is very necessary," said the MP from Communist Party of India - Marxist.
Silkyara was the not the sole incident and such events have happened before in the area, he said.
Ajay Pratap Singh of BJP said Sivadasan may have his own views on the incident, but the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to the wellbeing of the poor.
He expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister, Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami, Union Minister V K Singh, and all those involved in the rescue operation, including rat miners, for successfully evacuating the workers.
NHIDCL is constructing the tunnel through Hyderabad-based Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd.
Meanwhile, Sant Balbir Singh of AAP raised the issue of air pollution.
He said about 21 lakh deaths take place every year due to air pollution.
The air was clean for only one day in Delhi, five days in Mumbai, and 15 days in Chennai in a year Singh said.
He further said whenever there are talks about air pollution, it is attributed to stubble burning by farmers of Punjab.
He said no farmer of Punjab wants to burn stubble and urged the Centre to grant financial assistance to farmers so that they don't have to burn their crop to clean the field before fresh sowing.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
