Army, Navy rescue marooned people in Karnataka's flood-hit district
Bengaluru, Aug 17 : Indian Army troops and Navy divers joined the national and state disaster relief forces to rescue hundreds of people marooned in Karnataka's flood-hit Kodagu district, said an official statement on Friday.
"About 60 Dogra Regiment soldiers and 12 expert naval divers rescued 873 marooned people in the flood-hit district, where overnight heavy rains caused landslides and inundated low-lying areas at Makkanduru," said the statement from the Chief Minister's office.
Kodagu, about 250 km from Bengaluru, is one of the districts in the southern state worst hit by the south-west monsoon rains since June first week.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is visiting Kodagu on Saturday to assess the situation and review relief operations in the district, where landslides claimed four lives since Thursday.
"Kumaraswamy will visit the rain-hit areas in the district and review the rescue and relief operations with officials," said another official statement released by the Chief Minister's office on Friday night.
The Chief Minister also directed district in-charge Sa Ra Mahesh to rush relief materials to Kodagu from Mysuru.
The Army's engineering task force deployed 73 boats, equipment and rafts in rescuing the people and escorting them to safer places in the district.
About 60 members of the national and state disaster relief forces and 45 members of the civil defence joined the rescue and relief operations with boats and equipment in Madikeri in the hilly district.
"Though the Indian Air Force (IAF) aborted rescue mission due to inclement weather, it will fly M17 chopper from Mysuru on Saturday to rescue the remaining stranded and transport relief supplies," noted the statement.
About 200 personnel of the state fire service had rescued people in flood-hit towns and villages across the district with their boats and equipment.
"Telecom services, disrupted due to rains and strong winds uprooting poles and snapping phone lines, are being restored on priority. HAM operators have been deployed as back-up. Power lines are also being restored," said the statement.
The district administration has housed 573 persons in 17 relief camps.
Intra and inter-state bus and train services between Karnataka and flood-hit Kerala were suspended due to landslides and rainwater submerging the highways and roads in the ghat section.
State-run and private bus services from Mysuru and Chamarajanagar to Ooty and Coonoor hill stations in Tamil Nadu were suspended due to flooding and fallen trees blocking the routes in the ghat section.
According to the weather office, rain fury continued in the state's coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada, disrupting normal life, including vehicular movement of goods and people.
Schools and colleges will remain shut even on Saturday in the affected districts due to flooding and disruption of bus services.
The state's metrological department has warned of moderate to heavy rain in coastal, south interior and north interior areas of the state till Sunday.
A record 14.6 cm of rainfall was recorded at Madikeri, 11.5 cm at Virajpete, 10.4 cm at Sakleshpura, 10.3 cm at Sringeri, 9.3 cm at Supa, 9 cm at Sulya, 8.8 cm at Somwarpete and 8.6 cm at Belthangadi during the last 24 hours.
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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.
