Goa nightclub tragedy: fireworks likely cause of blaze; 4 staff members arrested
Panaji (PTI): Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday said four staff members of the `Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub have been arrested following the fire tragedy, and he has ordered action against officials who allowed the club to operate while flouting rules.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that "electric firecrackers" were set off inside which started the blaze, he said, adding that club owners Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra would soon be arrested.
He has ordered state chief secretary Dr V Candavelou and Director General of Police Alok Kumar to identify and act against the guilty government officials, Sawant said, speaking to reporters hours after the fire at the club claimed 25 lives.
Sawant held a series of meetings with high-ranking officials from the state administration and home department to review the situation following the tragic fire.
The DGP was directed to take strict punitive action against the owners of the club, Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, against whom an FIR has been registered, Sawant said, adding the duo would be soon arrested.
The club's chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania and gate manager Riyanshu Thakur were arrested by the police, the CM said.
The government has also formed a committee of South Goa Collector, Deputy Director of Fire and Emergency Services and Director of Forensic Laboratory to inquire into the incident, he informed.
The committee will submit its report within a week.
The government has worked out measures to ensure that such incidents do not occur again, the CM said.
An advisory will be issued to all the nightclubs and other establishments in the hospitality sector asking them to take adequate safety precautions, he added.
Government officials who allowed the club to operate, even though it violated several rules, would be suspended during the day, Sawant said.
The state authorities will also conduct an audit of clubs which operate without permissions and also the places where there is a possibility of people gathering in large numbers, the chief minister said.
An ex-gratia of Rs five lakh for the nearest kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured would be paid from the State Disaster Management Authority Funds, he said.
Arrangements would be made to take the mortal remains of the deceased to their native places, he informed.
The incident happened at 11.45 pm on Saturday, and teams of Fire and Emergency Services and Police rushed to the site immediately, Sawant said.
Initially the fire fighters saw only two bodies on the floor but later found 23 more bodies in the kitchen, and these persons had died due to suffocation, the CM said.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
