Mangaluru: A digital payment system was officially launched on Thursday by Mangaluru City Corporation Mayor Manoj Kumar at the MCC office on Thursday for collection of rent from tenants of MCC properties, including commercial complexes, market areas, function venues and open areas.

The MCC earns revenue of Rs 3.4 crore annually from the 1,070 shops it owns in 30 markets on Kudmul Ranga Rao Road, Town Hall, Dr. BR Ambedkar Bhavan and open grounds at Urwa, Kadri, Yemmekere, Jeppu, Kavoor, and the Nehru Maidan, reports Times of India.

Tenants on all such areas may pay their rent through www.mccportal.in, instead of physically visiting the MCC office. This new system also enables shop owners in the markets to settle their rental dues through the web portal.

The mayor, however, clarified that people who wished to book open grounds and function halls would have to visit the MCC office, where the staff will handle the online booking on their behalf. He further explained that the rule was implemented as a precautionary measure, as permitting direct online bookings could potentially lead to misuse and deliberate blocking of these facilities.

Manoj Kumar said that a private firm had developed the new online payment system at a cost of Rs 3.5 lakh.

MCC officials opined that the use of an online payment system would prevent any act of corruption. A QR code might also be introduced by the Corporation to prevent unauthorized hoardings within Mangaluru City limits. While the MCC earns an annual rent up to Rs 2.5 crore from hoardings, a survey of the hoardings was launched and people who had taken the hoardings on rent were asked to submit details to the Corporation officials, they added.

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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.