Autorickshaw drivers to go on strike in Bengaluru tomorrow against bike taxis
Bengaluru, Mar 19: Autorickshaw drivers in Bengaluru will go on a strike on Monday in protest against private bike taxi aggregators functioning in the city.
According to Adarsh Auto and Taxi Drivers' Union president M Manjunath, over two lakh autorickshaws will remain off roads starting from Sunday midnight to Monday midnight. The union has one of the largest membership of autorickshaw drivers in Karnataka's state capital.
The autorickshaw drivers will also take out a march from Bengaluru City Railway Station to the Chief Minister's House.
"We will observe a 24-hour strike starting from Sunday midnight. Our agitation is against the illegal operation of bike taxis operating in the city," Manjunath told PTI.
He claimed the state transport department viewed bike taxis as illegal but yet the drivers are operating on the city roads with impunity.
Manjunath also said 21 autorickshaw drivers' associations have come together against the bike taxis.
Recently, a video had gone viral of an autorickshaw driver smashing a bike taxi driver's mobile phone at a major intersection in the city over the alleged illegal use of such services.
Autorickshaw drivers and bike taxis have been competing for space on Bengaluru's roads to gain customers.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
