52 die in Karnataka during pre-monsoon rains: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, May 23: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said 52 deaths have been reported so far due to pre-monsoon rains in the state, along with damages to properties, and directed officials concerned to provide immediate relief.
He said authorities have been warned of strict action in case of dereliction of duty.
The CM today chaired a meeting with Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of all districts and CEOs of Zilla Panchayats, over video conferencing, to discuss disaster management.
"Pre-monsoon showers have started in several parts, pre-monsoons are from April to June. This time pre-monsoon showers have been 10 per cent above normal. In this about 52 people have lost their lives so far, 331 livestock loss has been reported, crop loss has been reported in 20,000 hectare, and 814 houses have been damaged," Siddaramaiah told reporters after the meeting.
Immediate relief has to be provided for all these, he said. "Already Rs 5 lakh has been provided to the family of 52 dead -- who have died due to tree fall, those died due to thunder strike or washed away by rain water."
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"Also, it has been decided to provide relief to livestock loss, and to assess the damages caused to houses and provide immediate relief," he added.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Ministers and senior government officials were present at the meeting.
Noting that there was lot of expectations from the people after the new government coming to power, the CM said the dispensation has to live up to their expectations and officials should also become active.
"So strict instructions have been given to DCs of districts, CEOs of Zilla Panchayats," he said.
Averring that monsoon will start from June and according to the Met Department it will start from June 9, Siddaramaiah said pre monsoon sowing has been done in more than 2 lakh hectares so far.
"Deputy Commissioners have Rs 540 crore with them and based on the situation if money is required, the government is ready to provide more. There is Rs 331 crore under the disaster relief fund....so for any reasons relief works should not stop," he said.
The CM also instructed the officials to ensure that there was no shortage of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides.
"Officials have been given the responsibility, and if they don't fulfill it, action will be taken against them," he said and added that as the state has witnessed successive years of floods, taking cue from the past experience precautionary measures have been taken.
DCs and CEOs have been directed to visit villages and inspect the ground realities, and take decisions based on that.
Instructions have been given regarding Bengaluru city too, the CM said. Underpasses where water gets logged during rains, should be shut for traffic, and it should be cleared scientifically.
"Drains have to be desilted, encroachments of rajakaluves (storm water drains) have to be cleared --works should restart in this regard, all measures have to be taken to ensure that roads are not inundated. Strict instructions have been given to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike in this regard," he added.
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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.
