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.
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Three more arrested in connection with murder of Suhas Shetty in Mangaluru
Mangaluru (Karnataka), May 14 (PTI): The Mangaluru City Crime Branch has arrested three men in connection with the murder of Hindutva activist Suhas Shetty, officials said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Azaruddin alias Azar alias Ajju (29), Abdul Khader alias Noufal (24) and Vamanjoor Noushad alias Chotte Noushad (39), were arrested during the last two days, they said.
With the fresh arrests, a total of 11 people have been arrested in connection with the murder so far, police said.
According to a police statement, Azaruddin had previously been booked in three theft cases registered at Panambur, Suratkal, and Mulki police stations. He allegedly provided information about Shetty's movements to the other accused, aiding in the murder.
Khader is said to have assisted the accused during their escape in a car after the murder was committed.
Noushad is accused of having conspired with the others and directly participated in the crime. He has six previous criminal cases, including murder, attempted murder, and robbery conspiracy, registered at various police stations in Dakshina Kannada, police said.
Azaruddin has been remanded in judicial custody, while Khader and Noushad have been taken into police custody for seven days for further investigation.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and efforts are underway to trace other accused involved in the case.
Shetty, a known rowdy sheeter and Hindutva activist, was murdered by a group on May 1 within the Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru City.
