Maharashtra govt. permits private buses to operate with full capacity.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Friday allowed private buses to operate with full capacity ahead of the Diwali holidays and issued an SOP to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection.
The state government has directed private bus owners not to allow passengers without masks to board their vehicles and keep sanitizers at the entrance of buses along with extra masks.
As per the SOP, a copy of which is with PTI, every passenger will be screened with a thermal gun before boarding, and those with fever, cough, and cold will not be permitted to travel.
Drivers should ensure that proper social distancing is maintained among passengers while boarding and alighting from buses, the SOP stated.
Buses should be disinfected at the end of each journey and even reservation offices should be cleaned and sanitized, it was stated.
As per the guidelines, permit holders of buses will have to maintain proper records of the disinfection of their buses.
The state government has also warned action against permit holders under the Motor Vehicle Act 1988, Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989, and Disaster Management Act 2005, in case the SOP is violated.
Private operators have been seeking to ply buses with full capacity, especially after the state government permitted the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) to so.
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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.
