Farmers brave chilly night at Ramlila Maidan, 'Khudai Khidmatgaars' offer comfort
New Delhi : It is past midnight and a group of farmers are raising chants of 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' while a few volunteers are offering tea to other peasants at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan to beat the cold.
Thousands of farmers from across the country converged Thursday at the historic Ramlila Ground after journeys that took some as long as 36 hours to complete to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.
They are spending the night at the ground before marching to Parliament on Friday.
Kartar Singh, 50, a sugarcane farmer from Sambal district, Uttar Pradesh, is anxious about the march tomorrow and cannot sleep, but he's not complaining.
"We have not come here to sleep. Farmers have converged in Delhi to remind the Union government that the party leading it had made promises of waiving off loans in its manifesto. And, its been four and a half years since they came to power," he said, with an edge of anger in his voice.
Singh, a father of two sons is from Fatehpur Sarai village and, his younger son (22 years) has taken the field work while he is away.
"My wife and children have told me, that I should fight and stay even for a week in Delhi, if needed," he told PTI.
Inside the tents, farmers, both men and women, from all parts of India try to sleep in a chilly night, while many sat huled together, discussing the next strategy and family issues.
But, a group of volunteers, belonging to welfare organisation 'Khudai Khidmatgar' are trying to offer some comfort to these wearied farmers in the cold weather.
Shahjeb Jamal, a civil engineering student at Jamia Islamia and a volunteer with the group is lugging around a steel container and a hands out paper cups to farmers as they huddle around.
"Our organisation's philosophy as envisioned by its founder Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, is service and public harmony, and so we are here. We Stand its the farmers," he said.
Jamal said Friday morning another batch of volunteers would be coming to offer tea and some breakfast to them.
A group of 25-30 doctors also offered medical aid till about 11 pm, some of them took off from work to volunteer.
Rashid, a junior resident at AIIMS was among the doctor's volunteers who attended to people till night.
"I took an off today from work, as I had to be here. They feed us, and we are not doing any favour by helping them, we are serving them," he told PTI.
Doctors also came from Aligarh Muslim university and Rohtak and Chandigarh and other Delhi hospitals to assist farmers, many of whom complained of body ache as they had travelled long distance.
"One person had fainted, so, after first aid, we sent him to LNJP Hospital," said Mahtab Alam, a doctor at a Delhi government hospital.
The historic ground, known for hosting big political events over the years, resonated with slogans like 'Ayodhya nahi, karz maafi chahiye' earlier in the day.
Now, many are waiting for the crack of dawn, for start of a new day, filled with unwavering hope.
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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.
