After leopard scare, Karnataka govt to set up rapid response task force for Bengaluru city
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has directed his department to create a separate dedicated rapid response leopard task force for Bengaluru city, days after an elusive big cat that was wandering in a residential area here was shot dead during its capture.
Some wild animals are straying from forests in search of food due to inadequate rainfall this year, he said. Leopards are being sighted on the outskirts of Bengaluru, especially localities in hilly areas and those close to the periphery of forests, and people are worried over this, he added.
The minister instructed the forest department to immediately form a rapid response leopard task force in Bengaluru, and capture wild animals that stray into the city, and later send them to the forests or to rehabilitation centres.
In addition to the existing five elephant rapid task forces, two additional ones -- one each at Bannerghatta and Ramanagara -- have been formed, he said.
Similarly, in hilly areas of the state which is the habitat of leopards and bears, at least one task force should be formed for every three districts and they should be provided with advanced equipment, Khandre added.
The minister instructed that the personnel of the Leopard task force should be properly trained and that mock drills should be conducted to check their readiness and equip them.
Last week, the foresters shot dead the leopard that had scared residents of AECS Layout and Kudlu Gate near Singasandra. After three days of intense search operations, forest department officials tracked the big cat to Kudlu Gate near Electronic City.
They had set a cage and tried to tranquilise and trap the the animal but when their efforts failed, they shot it down.
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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.
