Mangaluru: Commuters from Kerala sent back for not having RT-PCR report
Mangaluru, Aug 2: Hundreds of commuters from Kerala were sent back by Dakshina Kannada police at the Talapady border on Monday for not having RT-PCR negative report, as mandated by the Karnataka government.
Passengers from Kerala staged a road roko at the spot for some time, police said
The protesters alleged that the "sudden decision" of the Karnataka government has severely affected the people of Kasaragod, who depend on Mangaluru for employment, medical aid and education.
They urged the district administration to hold Covid tests at Talapady and allow them to enter Mangaluru.
Police, meanwhile, said that they will file a case against people who blocked the highway.
DK district administration was holding Covid tests at the Talapady border till Monday morning.
Those with symptoms are subjected to RAT test and if found to be positive, are sent back.
DK deputy commissioner K V Rajendra said that no person from Kerala will be allowed to enter Mangaluru without an RT- PCR test report.
Additional police forces will be deployed to implement the rule,he said.
Students from Kerala, who had come to Talapady to write the examinations of Mangaluru university, were however, allowed to enter after they produced the hall ticket and college identification card.
The Karnataka government had on July 31 made it mandatory for all those entering the state from Kerala and Maharashtra to have negative RT-PCR certificates in view of the high number of cases in these states.
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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.
