Differences in Goa government over ban on import of fish
Panaji, Oct 25: Differences have emerged in the Goa government over the issue of ban on the import of fish for fear of formalin contamination.
Goa Forward Party (GFP) leader Vijai Sardesai is in favour of ban on the import, while BJP leader and health minister Vishwajit Rane has refused to impose it.
Sardesai, the agriculture minister, claimed Thursday that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, while admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, had given his nod for imposing the ban.
"The decision was conveyed to officers but they have not executed it," Sardesai said.
"The controversy is over preservatives (like formalin) being added to fish, making the staple diet of Goans unsafe for consumption," he said.
To restore people's confidence in the quality of fish available in local markets, a ban on the import was needed, he said.
Health minister Rane, who held a review meeting on fish import with his department officials Thursday, however refused to impose a ban.
It was decided at the meeting that only insulated trucks would be allowed to bring in fish from outside as per a circular issued on August 4.
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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.
