Goa tourism dept issues notice to Yuvraj Singh over his villa
Panaji, Nov 22: The Goa tourism department has issued a notice to cricketer Yuvraj Singh for allegedly putting up his villa at Morjim for homestay online without registering it with relevant authorities in the state, and called him for a hearing on December 8.
Registration of a homestay with the tourism department is mandated under the Goa Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1982.
Deputy Director of Tourism Rajesh Kale, in the November 18 notice addressed to the cricketer-owned villa, 'Casa Singh', located at Morjim in North Goa, directed the allrounder to appear before him on December 8 at 11 am for personal hearing in the matter.
The notice asks the 40-year-old cricketer why penal action (a fine up to Rs one lakh) should not be initiated against him for not registering the property under the Tourist Trade Act.
"It has come to the notice of the undersigned that your residential premises located at Varchewada, Morjim, Pernem, Goa is allegedly functioning as a homestay and is being marked on online platforms like Airbnb," said the notice.
The department has also quoted a tweet by Singh wherein he has said he would be hosting an exclusive stay at his Goa home for a group of six, only on @Airbnb.
"This is where I spent time with my loved ones and the home is filled with memories of my years on the pitch," the tweet had mentioned.
The notice issued by the department stated that "every person intending to operate a Hotel/Guest House before operating it, has to apply for registration to the Prescribed Authority in the Prescribed manner."
"Therefore, a notice is hereby given to you as to why penal action should not be initiated against you for default in registration under the Goa Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1982," it said.
Asking Singh to appear for hearing, the officer has said if no reply is received within the said date (December 8), "it will be assumed that the grounds mentioned in the notice are correct and on such assumption under Section 22 or in violation of any of the provisions of the Act, you shall be punishable with a fine which may extend up to Rs one lakh".
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Pahalgam terror attack: Blood will flow if India stops river water, Bilawal Bhutto threatens
Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has threatened that blood would flow in rivers if water is stopped, in a sharp response to India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) after the Pahalgam terror attack.
"The Indus is ours and will remain ours - either our water will flow through it, or their blood," the former foreign minister was quoted as saying by The News on Friday while addressing a public rally in the Sukkur area of his home Sindh province.
The Indus flows through the province, and the Indus Valley Civilisation city of Mohenjo-Daro flourished on its banks. And Bilawal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has claimed India is heir to a civilisation thousands of years old, "But that civilisation lies in Mohenjo-daro, in Larkana. We are its true custodians, and we will defend it."
Bilawal said that Modi cannot sever the aeons-old bond between the people of Sindh and the Indus, adding that "the Indian government has cast its eyes on Pakistan's water, and the situation demands unity among all four provinces to defend and protect their water."
He said that neither the people of Pakistan nor the international community would tolerate Modi's "warmongering" or any attempts to divert the Indus waters away from Pakistan.
"We will send a message to the world that robbery on the Sindhu won't be accepted."
The PPP chairman urged his supporters to prepare for a resolute struggle to defend their river from Indian aggression.
Bilawal, who has also served as Pakistan's youngest foreign minister, said the country and its people condemned the recent terrorist attack in India because Pakistanis themselves remain victims of terrorism.
India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with Islamabad. That call was taken by India after the attack on Tuesday in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the attack.
In response to India's decision to suspend the IWT, Pakistan on Thursday threatened to suspend the Simla Agreement and put other bilateral accords with India on hold. Pakistan also suspended all trade, closed its airspace for Indian airlines and said any attempt to divert the water meant for it under the Indus Water Treaty will be considered an Act of War.
The Simla Agreement was signed in 1972. The treaty, signed in Shimla, was inked by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bilawal's grandfather.
Also, the PPP chairman announced on Friday that the federal government has now agreed to subject the construction of the controversial six new canals to consensus among all provinces.
"I want to share that the federal government has decided that no new canals will be built without consensus in the CCI (Council of Common Interests)," he said.
CCI is a high-powered inter-provincial body to tackle controversies between provinces.
